A Shard in Kyoto
by jeffs
Summary: A Shard is in the war-torn capital of Japan. Rated for realism & language. Geisha house kagmiroku & InuSango ch 15 NEW CHAPTER. The attack part 2 things go wrong...
1. Default Chapter

A Shard in Kyoto  
  
FF.net removed this story. Sigh. (I'll try to repost at the rate of 1 chapter every 2 or 3 days)  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story.  
  
Historical notes: I will be using various real life names and locations. Please note I am using these for my purposes and they will not be used with any historical accuracy. For the purposes of this story, I am assuming the story of Inu-yasha takes place around 1550 ad. (/- 5 years)  
  
Summary: The group will go to Kyoto and get caught up in the intrigues of the capital of Japan during the chaos of a Civil war.  
  
Japanese terms: I will limit the number of pure Japanese terms, suffixes, etc. Why? I know that there are readers that like and enjoy them. I am sorry, but this is a personal preference. When I read a story that requires a large glossary, I just do not like it. I think putting in those terms, which disrupts the flow of the story, as the reader has to stop and refer back to the glossary to get the full meaning of the terms. Yes, I do know that this means that I'm losing a lot of the subtlety in Japanese, but I think I gain enough in readability that I'm willing to accept that loss.  
  
While this is not a direct sequel to my story "when friends find out," I will assume that story has happened and I will expand upon ideas and themes started in that story. Reading that story should not be required to read and understand this story.  
  
This should be a quite long story and hopefully I can get some interesting twists in . . .  
  
Corrected version 1-4-04 corrected by Nuala. Thank you.  
  
Reposted 5-8-04. FF.net took this story down. They didn't tell me why, sigh. So, since the later chapters are rated R, I will post it as a pure R story. And since I have a habit of asking reading opinions, they might have taken it down for that reason... so... I'll have to do some editing on my author's notes. I'll be reposting the story 1 ch a day or so, until all the chapters are up... Shakes head...  
  
chapter 1  
  
Early morning . . .  
  
"I'm back!" Kagome shouts as she appears at the bottom of the well.  
  
Inu-yasha's head pops over the side of the well. "HI, Inu-yasha! I even managed to come back early this time!"  
  
"Feh."  
  
Kagome points to her heavy bag, "Could you please get this. My mother packed some extra ramen this time, and it's a bit heavier than normal."  
  
"Feh" inu-yasha grunts as he jumps down to get the bag while Kagome climbs out. Kagome looks at him, with a concerned expression on her face. "Inu-yasha, what's wrong? I'm early, I have extra ramen, even some new varieties that I think you'll love, but all you're doing is grunting with a sour look on your face."  
  
"Feh"  
  
"Inu-yasha . . . I was in a great mood. Please tell me something, so I can get back in that mood."  
  
"Feh . . . Miroku's found a new rumor where a shard is."  
  
"And you're upset because of that?"  
  
"Feh."  
  
"Well, lets go see him. Obviously trying to talk to you today is a lost cause." Kagome starts to walk to the village, with Inu-yasha following behind her. Kagome looks over her shoulder a couple of times, just to see if Inu-yasha's sour expression has changed. It hasn't.  
  
Shippo meets them and jumps on Kagome at the village edge. "You're back!"  
  
"Yep! Even early, though Inu-yasha isn't being all that appreciative of my effort." She looks at Inu-yasha, "I mean, a simple, 'thank you for being early,' would be nice for once."  
  
"Feh. Do you need praise when you don't pee on yourself?" Inu-yasha sneers.  
  
Kagome stops and looks at him, "Shippo, do you know what is causing him to be this much of an idiot?"  
  
"Nope. Him, Miroku and a monk friend of Miroku's were talking yesterday about shards and he's been like this ever since. Sit him. He deserves it, I promise."  
  
"I'm tempted, though I'm still in a good enough mood that I'll ignore it for now. But I'm going to talk to Miroku, and if I don't understand why he's being such a beast, well, I might change my mind."  
  
"Feh."  
  
They enter the village, where Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Keade wait for them on Keade's porch.  
  
"HI, guys!" Kagome yells and waves at them.  
  
"HI, Kagome!" "Lady Kagome, welcome." "Kagome, child"  
  
"What's got Inu-yasha into the horrible mood he's in?" Kagome asks as she watches Inu-yasha drop the bag on the porch and jump on the roof: he's ignoring the group.  
  
"I'm afraid I did, Kagome," Miroku says.  
  
"How?"  
  
"A friend of mine came by while you were gone. He brought me word that a shard has appeared in Kyoto."  
  
"Kyoto! That's great! All the movies and guides I've seen of old Kyoto have been great! I've always wanted to go there on this side on the well. But I always thought taking Inu-yasha there, just so I could play tourist, would be a bad idea." Kagome says excitedly  
  
"Movies? Guides?" Sango and Miroku ask.  
  
"Hmmm. I've told you about movies, remember, moving pictures that tell stories."  
  
"So you have lady Kagome. I am sorry, I forgot for a minute."  
  
"It's ok, Miroku. But, anyway, I've just seen so many stories set in old Kyoto that going there was something I've always wanted to do on this side of the well. I've visited Kyoto several times in my home time, and I just want to see how accurate the movies are," Kagome says with excitement in her voice.  
  
"You've visited Kyoto?" Sango asks.  
  
"Yes. I have been there, on a couple of school trips, and Grandfather took me and Sota there a few times to show us various shrines and to show us off to his friends." Kagome stops for a second and realizes that she might be excited, but her friends are not. "Ok, What's the problem with a shard being in Kyoto?"  
  
"Several things, but I think, the one that Inu-yasha is most upset about, is the time it will take to get there and back," Miroku says.  
  
"Huh? Kyoto is only a few hours away by train. It's not that far . . . I forgot . . . no trains here. Ummmm . . . How long does it take to get there nowadays?"  
  
"A month, with good weather and spending a lot of time walking."  
  
"..." Kagome pauses, "A month or more? One-way?"  
  
"Yes, Lady Kagome. Which means two months to get there and back, and whatever time it takes in Kyoto itself."  
  
"Two months . . . no. More than two months."  
  
"Yes, Lady Kagome. I think Inu-yasha is upset because with, hmmm, how do I . . . with the well and your . . . I think, he thinks that there will not be the time to get the shard."  
  
"Oh . . . I see. Yeah, two months straight, that is a problem," Kagome says in a small voice. She licks her lips and looks at her two friends, "You're sure about the time?"  
  
Miroku and Sango look at each other and shrug, "If we take Kirara and you stay on Inu-yasha's back, we can reduce it to two weeks to Kyoto, perhaps one week," Sango says.  
  
"If the weather cooperates, but typhoon season is starting," Miroku corrects.  
  
"Still a month probably."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You said several things, what is the others." Kagome asks with concern in her voice.  
  
Miroku pauses, then he starts talking, "Another reason is that it's Kyoto we're talking about, not some village in the middle of nowhere. I remember a story from the season I spent in Kyoto, Lady Kagome. A low-class samurai came to Kyoto, saying he had a legendary sword, I'm sorry, but I forget the name of the blade In the struggle for ownership of the blade, at least six samurai died. Then the blade broke, so everyone knew it was fake, and the low-class samurai died a long and painful death."  
  
"Scary."  
  
"Yes, but the shard is not a fake. It can provide humans with powers. How bad will the struggle for it be, especially if six or more died over a fake?"  
  
Kagome shudders. "I think, Lady Kagome, that we are all concerned about entering a situation in which half a dozen or more different families might be fighting for a shard."  
  
"Any other reasons?"  
  
"Yes, in and near Kyoto, like you are aware, are many hundreds of temples with thousands of priests, monks and mikos living in Kyoto. I know, from my time in Kyoto, that there are thousands of various anti–demon spells, seals and other things."  
  
"So, will Inu-yasha, Shippo and Kirara be able to come with us?" Kagome asks.  
  
"That is a question we've asked each other," Sango says.  
  
"I've been in fucking Kyoto. It hurts, but I can go in. Anyway, I was younger then, I'm more powerful now, so that anti-demon bullshit won't affect me." Inu-yasha interrupts from the roof of the hut.  
  
Kagome looks at Miroku. He shrugs, then shakes his head no. Kagome grimaces. "I see." She pauses then continues, "You guys have obviously talked this over. Do we have any advantages in Kyoto?"  
  
"Some. We're unknown, so we'll probably be looked down upon and ignored at first," Sango says.  
  
"Unlike the families in Kyoto, we will not have the web of promises, feuds, and personal problems that intertwine, shape and limit the actions of the families in Kyoto." Miroku continues when Sango pauses.  
  
"And then there is you, Kagome."  
  
"Me," Kagome asks in surprise.  
  
"Yes, you can sense the shard at a distance. There will be many rumors about which family, or even which member of each family, possesses the shard. Your ability to spot the shard will help locate it that much faster," Sango says.  
  
"Of course, that assumes that the possessor of the shard has not used its power to take control of Kyoto first. And, as such, he would be displaying it openly," Miroku adds.  
  
Kagome bites her lips, and asks, "You think . . . "  
  
"It's possible. The balance of power in Kyoto is close and unstable. In fighting for the shard, many things are possible." Miroku shrugs. "The shard will be in Kyoto at least two months before we can arrive. Who knows what will happen in that time?"  
  
Inu-yasha jumps off the roof and moves in front of Kagome. "All this is hogwash. Unless you can be here for at least a couple of months. Talking is all we can do," He says with an ugly growl in his voice.  
  
Kagome, sighs, then she looks at Inu-yasha and the rest of the group. "Well, What's the chance of it leaving Kyoto?"  
  
Miroku replies, "None, really, Kyoto is the center of power in Japan. Why would something that would make you more powerful leave the center of power?"  
  
Kagome nods her head. She closes her eyes for a minute. Inu-yasha starts to speak, but Miroku knocks him on the head with his staff and puts his finger to his mouth. "Shhh . . . "  
  
"Ok." Kagome purses her lips and swallows, "I can stay." "Just like that!" Inu-yasha yells at her.  
  
"No!" Kagome yells back, "No, not just like that! I've got to go back and explain this to my family!" "You just got here! You're not going back right now!"  
  
"Sit, boy!" she screams. "If I'm going to be gone for at least two months, than my family will know about it, Inu-yasha! And if you try to stop me from telling them, I will break your back!"  
  
Kagome leaves the hut and starts to go back to the well. "In addition, I can get more supplies. I can get maps of Kyoto and other things that will help us. So I'm leaving. I'll be back in a little while." She says as she leaves. Then she stops turns back around and says, "Oh, Inu-yasha about the piss statement earlier. . . Sit, boy! Sit, boy! Sit, boy!" then she leaves to go the well.  
  
The next day in the afternoon . . .  
  
"Inu-yasha! I need some help!" Kagome yells from the bottom of the well.  
  
"Bitch! You said a little while, not the next fucking day!" Inu-yasha yells from the top of the well.  
  
"I had to get some things to help us, inu-yasha and it took longer than I thought."  
  
"Wench! Bitch!" Inu-yasha yells as he jumps in to get the new bag sitting beside Kagome. "What's in here?"  
  
"I'll unpack with the others, Inu-yasha."  
  
At the village . . . Keade's hut . . .  
  
"As you guys know, ever since my friends found out, I'm having to explain my actions here more. But now that they know more, my mother and grandfather are trying to help me more, so they had a couple of suggestions that might help and they loaded me down with some things," Kagome explains as she opens up the bag she just brought. "In addition since my family knows I'm going to be gone a while, "she glares at Inu-yasha, "My mother came up something different to explain my disappearance this time."  
  
"What, Kagome?" Sango asks.  
  
"My grandfather and I will be going on a long pilgrimage to various shrines throughout Japan. It will take at least a couple of months. I think my mom came up with it more to get my grandfather out of her hair for a couple of months that to explain about me, but. . . " Shrug. "I'm not going to ask her."  
  
She pulls a long tube, in which you can fit painting or posters, shakes her head and puts it off to one side. "What's in there, Kagome?" Shippo asks. "I've told you guys before that my mother's an artist, right?"  
  
"Yes." "Well she gave me these paintings to take with me. She paints in traditional styles and some of her favorite artists live in the this time. She gave me a list of artists that should be alive in Kyoto now and she wants me to see if one of them will do a critique of the paintings."  
  
"That's stupid! We're not going to have to time to do that crap!" Inu-yasha yells.  
  
"I know that, Inu-yasha, but I'm not going to tell my mom that. I just told her, I'll bring them and if I get the time, I'll do it."  
  
"Waste of space," Inu-yasha mumbles.  
  
"Do you want to tell my mother that?"  
  
"..."  
  
"I didn't think so."  
  
"I must say, Lady Kagome, the more you talk about your mother, the more I wish that the well would allow us to meet. Any woman that can cow Inu- yasha, I would like to meet," Miroku muses.  
  
"She's told me that she'd like to meet all of you as well," Kagome says as she brings out a couple of cameras and a camcorder.  
  
"Your, what did you call them, photography machines?" Sango asks.  
  
"Yes, and plenty of film. And my mother got a camcorder to video tape things as well. And batteries."  
  
"Camcorder? Video tape?"  
  
"Remember when I talked about movies. This can make them. I'll show you it later."  
  
Kagome then pulls out a sheath of maps and guidebooks and spreads them on the floor. "Look through these, guys. See if they can help. Miroku, you said you spent a season in Kyoto, earlier, right?" "Yes, Lady Kagome." "Could you make sure these maps and such are accurate?"  
  
Miroku starts to go through the maps and guidebooks. "Whenever, I look at objects from your side of the well, I always become amazed, Lady Kagome. Beautiful, objects these, wonderful colors and details, and the skill involved, it is amazing." Sango, Shippo and Keade also go through them. The others "oh, ah" at the maps and guides as they look at them. Inu-yasha just sits back with his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"They're why I'm late, Inu-yasha, my grandfather shoved me into a train and took me to Kyoto so I could get them." She shakes her head and sighs, "I could have gone to the tourist office downtown and got them much faster, but . . . sometimes my grandfather . . . "  
  
"Kagome, you mean you went to Kyoto and returned just in the last day?" Sango asks.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You said yesterday that you can travel that fast on your side of the well, but . . . "  
  
"Didn't believe me, hmm? Don't worry about it, Sango. Stuff like trains and planes are hard to believe."  
  
"I'll have to examine them more closely, Lady Kagome, but many of these appear to be useable. Some of them are wrong in one way or another, but even wrong they are better than anything else I've seen," Miroku states as he goes through the maps.  
  
Kagome then pulls out a bag similar in size to a brown lunch bag. She shakes her head and puts it down. "Kagome?" Shippo asks.  
  
"Ignore it, a stupid idea that my grandfather had."  
  
She pulls out a couple of smaller pouches. "My mother had this idea. Miroku, my mother expects me to use this gift wisely." She hands one of them to Miroku. "So, don't steal."  
  
"Lady Kagome! I would never!"  
  
"Oh, tell me that after you open it up."  
  
"Gold . . . " Miroku says as he opens the pouch. He lifts up what looks like a broken link in a chain. While everyone is looking at the gold, Kagome slips the other pouch into a pocket, unnoticed.  
  
"Yes, about fifty grams. She had an old necklace that she didn't need anymore."  
  
Kagome pulls out a scroll. "Well, this is the last weird item. Another one of my grandfather's ideas. Lady Keade, please look at it and tell me how stupid it is." She hands the scroll to Keade who opens it. Keade eyebrows raise to the top of her forehead as she says, "My Dear Kagome. Do you know what's on this scroll?"  
  
"Yes, I tried to talk my grandfather out of it. But he called a friend at Ise who faxed him the details on the seal. And then he had my mother write the letter." By this time the others, included Inu-yasha is looking over Keade's shoulders reading the scroll. "Kagome, this says you're a Miko from Ise. On some secret mission from the head priest of Ise. And anybody helping you would be rewarded by the temple at Ise," Sango says with wonder in her voice.  
  
"Hmmm, can I hold it, please Lady Keade," Miroku asks. She hands it to him. "The paper is different then it should be. The seal of the high priest of Ise is excellent, even included the harder to duplicate personal seals. This is a very nice forgery. Your mothers' calligraphy is also excellent, well on par with the head scribe of Ise -- I've seen his work before. Except for the paper, this is an excellent forgery. It should work with most people. But in Kyoto, hmmm . . . There will be people there that will notice the difference in the paper." Miroku muses as he hands it back to Lady Keade.  
  
"The use of the seal of Ise . . . " Keade starts to say.  
  
"That's my grandfather's idea! He said his friend agreed to let him use it. But . . . " Kagome starts to explain.  
  
Lady Keade hands it back to her. "I would use it only as a last resort. If then. Moreover, should you use it, I would send a letter of explanation to Ise. " Keade says.  
  
"Well, I am done. We can pack tonight and leave tomorrow morning. Ok?" Kagome says.  
  
"Very early . . . " Inu-yasha growls.  
  
End chapter 1  
  
Authors' note the Temple at Ise is one of the major temples in Japan at this time. A letter of support like this would be very powerful. You would not want to get the high priest at Ise upset with you if you hurt/didn't help/upset one of his Miko's.  
  
This is going to be a long and hopefully detailed story. (I've got to find a map of old Kyoto and post it somewhere as a reference.)  
  
It would be very nice, if I knew that people wanted to read more of the story. Please review, or contact me via e-mail with comment, questions, etc. The more reviews/comments I receive the more time I will devote to this story. Otherwise . . . I just put this on hiatus and move on . . .  
  
Updates may be irregular, but I will try. (Finding the correct references . . . )  
  
Time travel/historical paradoxes. Using Kyoto means I have to address it. It's the one place in Japan where enough detailed records were kept so that if the group showed up, it would be recorded. I do have a plan and it will be explained toward the end of the story.  
  
thank you for reading. jws1webtv.net jeff shelton 


	2. arrival at Kyoto

chapter 2  
  
Arrival at Kyoto.  
  
It did take the group about a week to get to Kyoto. While there were some odd encounters on the way, this is a story about the group in Kyoto, not their trip there. (Weather problems, the odd demon after the shards in Kagome's possession, bandits, villagers frighted by Inu-yasha or upset about Kagome and Sango's clothes and behavior, and of course the usual fights between group members.) A couple of important events did happen, and I will handle them in flashbacks.  
  
Please note the group has had days to think and plan about this. This is not something they are jumping into headfirst . . .  
  
Inu-yasha, Kagome with Shippo on her shoulder, and Sango with Kirara in her arms stand on one of the hills overlooking Kyoto from the east. They are on a hill overlooking Kyoto from the east side. It is late afternoon. About half a kilometer away from the group is a Buddhist monastery.  
  
Kyoto lays before them - an imposing diorama . The city is laid out in a rectangle, perhaps five kilometers east to west and eight to ten kilometers north to south. The city lacks a true wall, and some of the buildings on the west and south side of the city tend to fade into the fields that surround the city on those sides. On the north side of the city, the buildings and roads continue on. Just north and east of the city looms the mountain called Hiei, home to several major Buddhist temples. On this mountain are thousands of small buildings and temples, though most are not visible through the trees. But the ones that are visible look more like fortresses than temples.  
  
The group stands only a three or four kilometers away from the city proper, with the Koma River in between. They can see many boats, barges and other water craft on the river as well as carts, wagons, and groups of people going back and forth across the half-dozen or more bridges that cross the river.  
  
Because the city is on a plain sloping slightly toward the group, the tops of the houses and building are plainly visible. On the north end and west side, many colorful pagodas stick up from the lower structures. Though most of the buildings in the city are only one or two stories high, the pagodas tower three to six stories. The south and west sides are dominated by lower and much less colorful buildings.  
  
The main streets of the city form in a regular grid, with the largest perhaps thirty meters wide. There are less than half a dozen main streets going north to south but more than that going east to west. Some of the streets in the southern and western part of the city fade out into the fields, so it is hard to see where they stop or start. They can see, barely, that alleyways and small streets run between the buildings in a block. Small canals carrying running water throughout the city also parallel the main streets. Even from a distance, they can see that while the city blocks are easy to locate, finding a building that is not on one of the main streets, will be a problem.. (See author's note at bottom for jpg's of Kyoto.)  
  
A polluted haze over the city obscures some of the details.  
  
"I didn't think that there would be pollution in this time?" Kagome asks the group in general as she lowers the camera that she has been using.  
  
"Cooking fires, Kagome. It is close to dinner time," Sango answers her.  
  
"When will the monk be back? I'm hungry," Inu-yasha complains.  
  
"We'll be camping here, so we'll start cooking in a few minutes, Inu-yasha, unless Miroku tells us something different when he returns from visiting the monastery," Kagome says calmly. "Shippo how are you feeling?" she asks.  
  
"I still hurt, Kagome. It's just all over my body," Shippo says with a small whine in his voice.  
  
"The anti-demon magic around Kyoto," Sango says confidently.  
  
Kagome grimaces, "Yes, I can feel it myself. Actually, for me, it's rather pleasant, like a light full body massage. You, Inu-yasha?"  
  
"I'm fine, woman."  
  
"I would push you and get you to tell us the truth, but even if you told me about the how bad the pain is, you still wouldn't change your mind."  
  
"Feh. The monk's coming."  
  
Both girls look at each other, and shake their heads. They are not going to take advantage of the opening Inu-yasha just left  
  
Miroku's arms are full of clothes as he approaches.  
  
"Kagome, here is some clothing for you."  
  
"Huh? Miroku? Why?"  
  
"Remember the looks the villagers gave you in the last couple of villages we passed through?"  
  
Kagome nods/ Miroku is correct; the closer they got to Kyoto, the worse the villagers have treated her. "Kyoto is even worse about clothing. And we did want to be ignored, so wearing odd clothes . . . "  
  
"Will mean we will not be ignored. I understand Miroku, sigh. Give them here and I'll wear them. I had forgotten about all the laws about clothing that were in place at this time." Kagome shakes her head. "You read about them in the history book, about laws detailing exactly what clothes you could or could not wear based on your family's social class. But actually having to deal with them. . . "  
  
Miroku says, "Checking to make sure that people are wearing the correct clothing is part, sometimes a major part, of the police of Kyoto's jobs. The police, really, are not good for anything else. In order to become a member of the police force, they look at who your father is, not at how good of a person you are. Most officers are spoiled young noble men that would rather be drunk and with a willing woman than out helping the people of Kyoto."  
  
Miroku pauses, then, "Kagome and Sango, please, try to limit the conversations you have. Both of you have non-Kyoto accents and that might cause problems."  
  
"What type of problems?"  
  
"There are people that will look down on you, since from your accent you aren't a native of Kyoto. The con men and crooks will also take you as an easy target, ignorant peasants from the provinces. So be careful about people offering help for little or no reason."  
  
"You went to that monastery to get information, not clothing, monk. What did you learn?" Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"I learned a good deal, Inu-yasha, But as I was walking up you complained about food. I will tell the information over and after dinner."  
  
As they eat, (the last of ramen, BTW. Inu-yasha was hungry on the way to Kyoto.) Miroku starts talking.  
  
"First, some good news: the holder of the shard has not taken over Kyoto."  
  
He grunts. "Do you know where in Kyoto the shard is, monk? I don't need to know anything else."  
  
"The location of the shard is given in many rumors, Inu-yasha. Which rumor is true or false, is unknown."  
  
"Crap."  
  
"There are rumors of many different pieces floating through Kyoto."  
  
"Many pieces? Wench! What do you feel?"  
  
"I can only feel one piece, Inu-yasha. I'm too far away to give a solid direction, but there's only one shard in Kyoto. At least, I think so. There is a lot of magic down there."  
  
"Powerful, Kagome?" Sango asks.  
  
"Confused and contradicting would be better Sango. Like watching a thunderstorm roll." Kagome replies.  
  
"But those rumors . . . "  
  
"Are just that, Inu-yasha, rumors. There is an underground industry of buying and selling rumors in Kyoto. The shard and the rumors surrounging it are part of that industry now. Luckily, Lady Kagome's powers will allow us to ignore the rumors." Miroku nods to Kagome.  
  
"Any fighting?" Sango asks.  
  
"Yes." Miroku points to open field off to the east side of Kyoto. "There was a small fight here a couple of days ago. From the stories, about two dozen or so deaths were involved. But there are also many dead bodies, ten or more each day, being fished out of the river and canals each morning. Most are probably related to the shard and to people trying to cheat each other to get it."  
  
"How powerful do they think it is?" Kagome asks.  
  
"By the rumors?" Miroku asks. Kagome nods. "Very powerful, Lady Kagome. The current rumor has it that the holder of the shard will be the next Shogun, or perhaps so powerful that the Shogun will obey the wielder, if the wielder does not want the title of Shogun."  
  
"It's not that powerful!" Kagome cries.  
  
"It doesn't matter any more how powerful it is, Lady Kagome. The fight for the shard will be won, if we don't intervene, by the meanest, strongest, toughest samurai family in Kyoto. That is normally the only real qualification to be the ruler of Kyoto. The real ruler can always marry into whatever family he needs to be accepted."  
  
"That's bad," Kagome says with a sigh.  
  
"Why hasn't the person with the shard, shown and used the it?" Sango asks.  
  
"I'm not sure, but if I was in their place, hmmm . . . I would not know how many of the rumors about the numbers of shards were real. So, I might think that my rivals had other pieces as well. So, until I could be sure that I possessed the only shard, I would hide it until I was ready to use it, perhaps," Miroku says muses. "Anything else, Miroku?" Sango prompts, after a short pause.  
  
"Yes, I asked about Inu-yasha's father and family while I was there."  
  
"What!?" Inu-yasha yells as he gets into Miroku's face.  
  
"Sit, boy!"  
  
Thump! "Arghh . . . " Inu-yasha goes deeper into the ground than normal.  
  
"Miroku please explain, quickly! I am not be able to say the word fast enough!"  
  
"When I was in Kyoto the first time, I heard stories about Inu-yasha's father's and Sesshoumaru's raids on Kyoto. I wanted to find out more about those stories, just in case any of them would cause Inu-yasha problems when he goes into Kyoto."  
  
"Sit, boy!"  
  
Thump! "Arrghhh . . . " Inu-yasha is trying to hide it, but the subduing spell is really hurting him.  
  
"Will there be a problem?" Kagome asks with concern in her voice.  
  
"Inu-yasha, do you want me to tell them, or do you wish to do so?" Miroku asks the flattened half dog demon.  
  
Inu-yasha growls, looks around, and he grimaces, "You better tell them what the rumors say, but remember, Monk, you're only talking rumors, and they are not true."  
  
"Oh, but Inu-yasha, the truth doesn't matter; all that matters is what the people of Kyoto believe."  
  
"Ok, I'm interested. Tell us, Miroku." Kagome says as she watches Inu- yasha. In addition she is concerned because she can sense those two sits, hurt him a lot more than normal.  
  
"To begin, Inu-yasha's father raided Kyoto several times. The last time he did it was about seventy, perhaps seventy-five, years ago. That time, he destroyed about a sixth of Kyoto and fires started by him destroyed another sixth."  
  
"Bad"  
  
"Yes, and about thirty years ago, an idiot convinced the weak shogun of the time, to appoint him as deputy lord of the western lands. Sesshoumaru did not appreciate that."  
  
"I'll bet."  
  
"Yes, luckily the winds were calm when he attacked. Only a sixth of the city was destroyed. Although the rumors don't say it, I'm quite sure the amount of destruction was the same as his fathers on purpose."  
  
"How does this affect Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks.  
  
"There is one more story, but I'll partially answer that question now, Lady Kagome. Because of those attacks, anti-dog-demon charms are very common. Many of the major houses have charms specifically against members of Inu- yasha's family."  
  
"The other story?" Sango asks.  
  
Miroku looks at Inu-yasha, who is pretending to ignore the conversion. "That story is about Inu-yasha." He nods at Inu-yasha. "About sixty years ago, he visited Kyoto. Exactly what he did, is not in the rumors, or rather the rumors are so confused, I'm not sure what he did. Even how long he was in Kyoto isn't clear from the rumors."  
  
"I was here for half a day," Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
Miroku's eyebrows raise. "I would have assumed longer, but if you say so."  
  
"What did he do?" Kagome with eagerness in her voice asks.  
  
"I do not know, Lady Kagome. I do know the result, however. The emperor, himself, put a price on Inu-yasha's head. His head only, Lady Kagome, not the rest of his body. The reward . . . marriage into the imperial house."  
  
"What did you do, Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks. Inu-yasha grunts and ignores her.  
  
"It's been sixty years, Monk, why should this matter?" Sango asks.  
  
"It matters, Lady Sango, because once rumors that Inu-yasha was alive again reached Kyoto, the current Emperor looked at the families' private records and has renewed the reward," Miroku replies. "The new reward includes a very good description of Inu-yasha as well. It would hard for me to imagine Inu-yasha remaining hidden in Kyoto for long."  
  
"What Monk! I'm going into Kyoto with you!" Inu-yasha screams.  
  
"Inu-yasha, due to your family history, and the reward on your head, you are probably one of the few people, in Japan that would cause the nobles of Kyoto to join forces to act together in attacking us. Do you want Lady Kagome in a situation where you would have to defend her against several hundred, if not thousand Samurai as they attack you?"  
  
Miroku thinks, 'perhaps that is clear enough for him, I certainly tried to explain it, even if I did repeat myself.'  
  
"Hell, no! But they would not attack . . . "  
  
"They will, if they find out about you," Miroku says with assurance in his voice . "Lady Kagome and Sango have to go into Kyoto, locate the shard and bring back the necessary information to us. Once they have accomplished that, we can attack the holder, get the shard and leave. But gathering the information may take time, and you can't go into Kyoto until we know where the shard is."  
  
"Inu-yasha, please, I'll be safe. We're only going to go into Kyoto, find where the shard is and return to you. We will not need to fight at first, just gather intelligence and Sango, Miroku and I can do that," Kagome pleads.  
  
"I'm not sure about that, Kagome. Miroku, you just said. Kagome and I go into Kyoto, What about you?" Sango asks looking hard at the monk.  
  
"Huh? You're not going, Miroku?" Kagome asks.  
  
Miroku pauses, sighs, and then starts in a low voice, "I knew I would have to say something, but this is harder than I thought it would be." Another pause and he continues in a normal tone of voice, "Yes, Lady Sango, like Inu-yasha, I will not be able to be in Kyoto all that long." He holds up his cursed hand. "This causes me to be noticeable and there people in Kyoto after me."  
  
"Steal from the wrong person, Monk?" Inu-yasha sneers.  
  
"What did you do to make the wrong person mad at you?" Kagome prods gently.  
  
"In the wrong bed, is my guess," Sango snaps.  
  
"Actually those guesses are wrong, in truth. But by rumor, they are all correct. Sighs . . . There are two families after me: Mori and Takeda. The Mori are after me because they are sure I attempted to sell an object of art, and it was destroyed in the attempt. They want my head, not connected to the rest of my body."  
  
"What happened?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Hmmm, I was doing an exorcism on their large household, and it would have taken several days. One night, I got up from my room, I was going spend for the rest of night with one of the daughters of the household."  
  
"Pervert."  
  
"She invited me in with a smile at dinner, Sango. But, as I was approaching her room, I saw a servant with the painting. I tried to stop him, and we fought. The house guards showed up in the middle of the fight. The painting was destroyed, I left, and the family believed the servant when he blamed everything on me. He was the ghostly thief I was there to exorcize, I'm sure." "That's one family. What about the other, Monk?" Sango asks in a flat voice.  
  
"The other . . . this is the hard one. Hmmm . . . My father knew that I would probably die young." Miroku lifts his cursed hand for a moment. "And knowing that, he wanted to make sure I would get married, so he engaged me to marry Takeda's daughter who lives here in Kyoto."  
  
"You're engaged to be married!" Kagome cries. Sango fumes . . .  
  
"Well, technically, yes. Meeting her and marrying her was the reason I went to Kyoto in the first place. But . . . Sigh . . . I left Kyoto the day before the wedding. And the family still wishes to have the marriage take place, so I suppose I'm still engaged."  
  
"She was ugly, wasn't she, Miroku?" Kagome asks.  
  
"That she was disgusted by his perversions is more likely, Kagome," Sango tells her.  
  
"The family was too poor for him is my guess," Inu-yasha says.  
  
"Again, you are all wrong. The family is wealthy enough, Inu-yasha. That was not a problem, nor does wealth really matter to me all that much."  
  
"I'll bet," Inu-yasha mumbles under his breath, thinking about all the fancy places Miroku has conned them into staying.  
  
"Oh, Inu-yasha, if given the choice, I will choose luxury, but I can survive without it."  
  
A small pause as he turns to Kagome. "Lady Kagome, she was, and I believe still is, a very beautiful young woman only a few years older than yourself. She's a bit smaller than yourself and Sango, a bit heavier then you two as well. But she has a long, floor length black hair, a nice well- rounded body, and great white skin. Definitely, not ugly."  
  
He nods to Sango. "Nor, was she put off by my personality. The first time I met her, She and several friends were exploring some the group activities in the Kama Sutra."  
  
Sango goes white, and stammers, "Then, why?"  
  
"My father, I think, would have been pleased by his choice. He told me many times about how hard it was to get my mother to conceive me. Ever since my finance turned thirteen years old, she has had a child a year, so her fertility is not an issue. My father evidently told them about his problems conceiving me and they decided to make sure I did not have any excuse about her fertility, or her behavior to cancel the marriage," Miroku says with distraction in his voice.  
  
Miroku shakes his head and looks at Sango. "The reason I left her is simple: I saw how she treated her children. At least two of her children died young and not by disease. When I saw how she hurt her youngest, when his cries interrupted her pleasures." Miroku shakes his head again. "I knew then, that no matter how pretty she was, how experienced she was on a futon, or how wealthy the family, I did not want her to the mother of my children," He finishes staring at Sango. Sango blushes...  
  
"So, if you go into Kyoto . . . " Inu-yasha starts.  
  
"Sooner or later, somebody will recognize my hand and bring word to one or both of those families. I can probably, like yourself, Inu-yasha, go into Kyoto for only a day, perhaps two, before I would be spotted, so . . . I'm afraid the girls are going to have to into Kyoto on their own."  
  
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Sango asks.  
  
"I had hoped that the two families would have forgotten about it, since it has been a few years. But I learned from my friends, that both are still actively looking for me."  
  
"Soooo . . . " Kagome starts, she looks at Kyoto in the fading light. "Tomorrow, Just Sango and I will go into Kyoto."  
  
"Yes, I am afraid so, Lady Kagome. You two shouldn't have a problem locating the shard. Once you do, you two will need to gather some details about who possesses it. Number of samurai, lay out of the house, allies in Kyoto, and more perhaps, and then you can return to us. It should take you perhaps a couple, maybe three days to get the information and return to us."  
  
"After two fucking days, I'm going after you," Inu-yasha growls.  
  
He's not going to admit it, but he is hurting from the anti-demon magic floating around Kyoto. It hurts more than last time. Miroku must be right about the specific anti-dog-demon spells. He remembers his first trip into Kyoto and how that went. He remembers that as he was leaving Kyoto, the charm his mother left him to protect him against human magic was broken, and only now, does he realize how much that charm helped him the first time. So against his wishes, he will allow Kagome to go into Kyoto with only Sango.  
  
"What about Kirara?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Kirara, how do you feel? Do you think you can go into Kyoto with me and Kagome?" Sango asks. Kirara nods and points toward Kyoto. Kirara does seem thinner, weaker than normal, but he is still active enough.  
  
"Why is Kirara not affected as much as the kid?" Inu-yasha asks.  
  
"Kirara is a full grown fire cat demon. Shippo is only a kitsune child. Fire cat demons are rare demons, and only some of the basic anti-demon magic is affecting Kirara. There are many specific anti-kitsune spells around here. While there are full-grown kitsune's in Kyoto, I've seen them, they also have kitsune magic to help them. I don't think Shippo was ever fully trained to use his magic," Miroku explains.  
  
"No, my parents died before they could teach me those types of spells. But, spells to cancel human magic are known, that much I know," Shippo says with a tried voice.  
  
"So, everything is set then." Kagome says as she looks around the group.  
  
"You still have to choose which clothes you will wear and you will have to use a normal looking pack, too. Remember also to limit the number to odd items, Kagome," Sango adds in to the conversation.  
  
"Yes, I've been thinking about that as we traveled. I don't want to leave something odd in Kyoto. So, I've got to pack my bag again."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Next day, early morning . . .  
  
Kagome returns to the camp after changing into a traditional kimono. Its pattern is as close to the pattern of Sango's kimono as she could get. "Could I get a cup of water, My throat hurts?" she asks.  
  
As Sango hands her a cup, "Are you getting sick, Kagome?"  
  
"No, I just swallowed something wrong this morning. And it hurt my throat." Kagome replies.  
  
"Miroku, if anything happens to this . . . " She warns as she hands Miroku her giant boomerang. There is no way she could bring it into the city, without major problems. She thinks angrily, 'If Inu-yasha or Miroku were coming, as planned, they could have carried it . . . ' She is wearing her normal kimono with her sword, which is disguised with a tube around it and a pack on her back.  
  
As Kagome goes over to get her new pack in the same style as Sango's, her mother's paintings in the tube over her shoulder, Inu-yasha comes up to her and demands, "Give me the shards, Wench."  
  
"Huh? Why? Inu-yasha?"  
  
"It's just you and Sango down there, and I don't want my shards getting lost in that city. You've lost them before," He says as he holds out his hand.  
  
"It might be a good idea, Lady Kagome, if you do as he wishes. I can, with difficulty and only at close range, detect shards. Others in Kyoto, I'm sure, can do so as well. If you bring them, others might find out and attack you," Miroku says.  
  
Kagome looks at Sango. Sango, grimaces, and she nods. "Sigh. You are probably correct, Inu-yasha." She pulls off her necklace and hands it to Inu-yasha  
  
"Everything ready, Sango?"  
  
"Yes, you?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Let's go . . . "  
  
End chapter 2  
  
Authors' note. Miroku's detection of shards. In his first appearance he could see the shard in the weasel demon from a couple of meters away. I'm going to assume, for the purposes of this story, that the magic of shards is detectable. But, unless its Kagome or Kikyo, you have to be within say 3 or so meters to detect a shard. If the shard is in use, the range increases to perhaps a couple of a hundred meters. For Kagome and Kikyo, I will assume that they can detect a shard from a couple of a hundred meters away. If the shard is being used then it is a few kilometers. This is for a firm direction of where the shard is. A general sense of there is a shard nearby only, that is many kilometers.  
  
Other people have to be able to detect shards. How else are Naraku and other demons finding them? The range for other people is just very small, compared to Kagome or Kikyo. (I will say, I can see the jewel trying to rebuild itself and attracting attention to itself, but even that would need a range limit.)  
  
To help explain the above and how it will affect this story: Mystics in Kyoto, can feel the presence of the shard. But, where it is, they have no idea. There is just a general feeling of dread covering the city.  
  
If and when the shard is used, there is a pulse of power that can be detected and tracked, if the mystic is concentrating and within a couple of a hundred meters of the shard. If the shard is just sitting on a table, or perhaps hanging around a neck, a mystic can detect it, only if they are within 3 meters or so. Basically looking at the shard from a close distance.  
  
Kagome, on the other hand, can sense the shard, even if it is in a locked safe, from a couple of a hundred meters. So All she has to do is walk around Kyoto and sooner or later, she'll spot it. If the shard is used while she in Kyoto, she'll know it and know where the shard is instantly.  
  
Miroku and the engagement... His father would have at least tried to set up something for him. The family trained their daughter to make the perfect wife for Miroku. And except for the fact they never taught her to be a good mother, they succeeded. The fact that the family went as far as they did in training their daughter does put a heavy obligation on Miroku. That is why he it was the night before the wedding, before he left. However, Miroku has a heavy obligation to his children. And he felt, that the obligation to make sure his children had a good mother, outweighs the obligation to the engagement. The other family, obviously disagrees... (getting a new marriage for their daughter, with the reputation she now has, would be difficult...)  
  
Pictures to help you understand the story...

remove the spaces for the link.

geocities. com/ wayne9atwebtv/ kyoto1.jpg

This a large shot of Kyoto and the surrounding mountains. This is for the mountain areas around kyoto. The time-frame for the picture is 900 ad. The groups position for this ch. is on this map.

geocities. com/ wayne9atwebtv/ kyoto2.jpg

This is the original street plan of Kyoto. From 800 ad. It was followed thereafter pretty well. The names of the major streets are on it. The Great Palace area, by the 1550 was not in good shape. The wars over the last 100 years had destroyed Kyoto entirely, at least once, and many parts of the city was rebuilt regularly. The emperor and his family normally lived with the Shogun or some other powerful family. The imperial palace was normally in the process of being rebuilt, after a fire during most of this time. (Money problems...)

geocities. com/ wayne9atwebtv/ kyoto3.jpg

  
  
this is Kyoto at about 1475. The time of the onin war. This war lasted ten years and was held in the city limits. (Even included trench warfare...) This is the war that destroyed the city, as mentioned above. To give you an idea about how the status of the emperor had changed the imperial palace is a small area on the eastern side of the city.  
  
Reviews would be appreciated . . . I would like to know my effort is appreciated.  
  
If you click on my pen name, I have a list of potential stories, I am thinking about doing. I would like to have some feedback about which stories, I should concentrate my effort in.  
  
Thank you jeff shelton 


	3. chapter 3 The first day in Kyoto

A shard in Kyoto  
  
Chapter 3  
  
About my story, "when Friends find out," I have, finally, gotten over my writers block with the scene of Kagome explaining her problems with Inu-yasha and Kikyo to her friends. I will work on that next, before I do anything else with this story. This was basically finished, there was a couple of more scenes . . . but I can shift them to ch 4. (I do have a couple of other things almost complete, I might finish them before doing "when friends" we'll see.)   
  
First day in Kyoto . . .   
  
Author's note: In the interest of saving some dialog. I'm going to reduce the amount of the customary polite phrases in the dialog. "Thank you, honorable sir. Pardon me, sir, etc." Sango and Kagome are normally polite girls and those phase are part of their normal speech pattern and as such, is included automatically. (Now, Inu-yasha on the other hand . . . ) I'm just ignoring them, in the interest of keeping the dialog as minimal as possible.  
  
I'm making this chapter as detailed as I can. I'm trying to set the mood of the city and give some details so readers can understand that this is not modern japan. I'm going to use as many odd POV's as I can, just for flavor. So, expect some very different opinions then you might think . . .   
  
A couple of general notes about Kyoto: I could not find a census for this time period. Not that unusual, due to the chaos. Pop. was less than 200,000, I think, but probably more than 100,000. Compared European cities it was well laid out. Very clean. Osaka, at this point in time, was about the same size, perhaps bigger than Kyoto. Tokyo, or Edo as it's called in this time, is a castle and a couple of villages on some marshland near a bay.  
  
AN: Footnotes mark. More complete explanation at the bottom of the chapter . . .   
  
"Speech"  
  
'thoughts'  
  
Kagome and Sango, with Kirara in her arms, are walking down the hill toward Kyoto. The early morning sun is shining, and cutting through the morning fog that is rising from the river. Even this early they can see people entering and leaving the city.  
  
"Kagome, let's stop for a minute, I need to give you something," Sango says.  
  
"Yes. Stopping is good, it's been to long since I've had to walk any real distance in these traditional wooden sandals (called geta), not my school shoes." Kagome bends down to fiddle with the straps, "I had forgotten how much I hate them." She looking at her friend and asks, "why did you want to stop?"  
  
Sango pulls out a small knife, and she says, "I want you to wear this. You probably will not like it, but, with just me for protection, I want you to have something on you, especially since you can't carry your bow in Kyoto." She points with the knife. "Lift up your left-arm and I'll tie this to it. You can draw the knife with your right-hand."  
  
Kagome grins, and she says, "Sango, There's already a knife there."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"While you were busy changing, Inu-yasha, and Miroku, this morning gave me knives. With the same reason you just did. Inu-yasha, strapped his to my left arm. Miroku, though, choose my right leg and he felt me up, while he was doing it." She finishes with a frown.  
  
"Oh. That's why there was a bump on his head when I came back. In that case." Sango takes off her pack and goes thru it for a minute or so and pulls out a large ten centimeters long hair pin with a seashell grip. It is very sharp and Kagome can easily see how sticking someone with it would be dangerous. "Let me see your hair for a minute, Kagome. I'll arrange it and put this in it. It'll probably bend when you use it, but you should be able to use it at least once. Also, let me see those knives. I want to make sure those idiots knew what they were doing." Sango approaches Kagome, who bends down and allows Sango to adjust her hair.   
  
"You know we've going to look like peasants just off the farm." Kagome says.  
  
"I know, and Kagome, we've going to have to act like it, as well. So, remember, to defer to anybody you see, or talk you. It'll probably be demeaning, but, until we know who's who in Kyoto. We've at the bottom of the social ladder, just about."  
  
Sigh. "Stopping and letting others past in front or around. Bowing and saying 'yes, ma'am and yes, sir' a lot." Sigh. "Fun stuff that." Kagome says with annoyance in her voice.   
  
"Yes," sigh. "Fun stuff, indeed. Kagome, please, watch it with the samurai, the bastards will expect to be treated like gods on earth. So, both of us, are going to have to hold things in, instead of teaching the idiots to treat us right."  
  
"Ok. I'm done." Sango says. "Let's look at those weapons, now."   
  
Kagome holds out her left-arm. Sango pulls up the sleeve and sees in addition to the knife strapped to her forearm, Kagome is holding the camcorder.   
  
"I thought you were going to put your stuff up?"  
  
"I thought the sleeve would hide it and I would be able to get some shots as we walk through the city. The shots probably won't be all that good, since I can't hold it openly, but," she shrugs.  
  
"Hmmm . . . Let me attached it to the sleeve, that way you can still use the hand. Just be careful, Kagome, my stitches might break." She takes a piece of cloth, wraps it and ties it around the handle and stitches the other end of the cloth to the inside the sleeve. "That should do it."  
  
"Let me adjust the sheath a bit on the knife. Make it a bit easier to pull." Sango fiddles with the sheath on Kagome arm a bit. Kagome can't see what she does to it, but, afterwards it fells more comfortable on her arm.   
  
"And now the leg." Sango says as she pulls up Kagome's kimono. "That monk . . . This is way too high . . . " Sango moves the sheath lower and arranges it properly and lowers the kimono. "There that should do it. Remind me to belt the monk a good one. He should have known better than to put the blade up that high. Given you it was one thing, not putting it on you properly is another." Sango says fuming.   
  
"You ready?" Kagome asks.  
  
Sigh, "I didn't think my hesitation was that noticeable, Kagome." Sango says looking at the ground embarrassed.  
  
"It's Ok, Sango. You've never been to a city as big as this. And so you're nervous."   
  
"Yes" she says softly.  
  
"My problem is I've been in bigger and better places, and well, I'm not going to be used to this either. And I was hoping the boys would come and help us, but. No . . . it's just us." Kagome finishes with a growl in her voice.   
  
"Any idea where to look first, Kagome."  
  
"We've still too far away. But, those building that burned down last night, might have been because of the shard so, let's head that way first." Kagome says pointing to a burnt out area on the south-west side of the city.   
  
flashback, last night  
  
"Wake up people!" Inu-yasha says as he goes around kicking everybody awake.  
  
"Huh? What Inu-yasha?" Kagome says blurrily.   
  
Sango wakes with a start and only Inu-yasha's reflexes prevent the knife that suddenly appears in her hand from hitting him. "We've not being attacked, Sango. Look!" Inu-yasha points to the city.  
  
In the distance, on the south-west side of the city, they can see one large building, or perhaps several smaller buildings burning. They are too far away to see any details, but it looks intense.  
  
"Oh! Will they put it out?" Kagome asks.  
  
Miroku says thoughtfully, "Perhaps, Lady Kagome, but." Shakes his head, "That is one of the reasons the streets of Kyoto are so wide. So they can act as fire breaks. The city has burned down to the ground many times in its history. A year rarely passes without a fire, even bigger than that one," pointing to it, "happening somewhere in the city. Every generation sees a fire that will consume more than a block."  
  
"What causes them?"  
  
"Anything could cause a fire, Lady Kagome, from a child overturning a lamp to deliberate arson. And with the many fights between families, throwing a torch over a wall and onto your enemy's house is not an uncommon tactic."  
  
"Arsonists should be killed." Sango growls out as she sees the fire flare up and flames jump a hundred or more feet into the air.  
  
Miroku smiles, nastily, "When I was in Kyoto, I saw an arsonist caught, Lady Sango. It took him more than two days to die. He was being tortured by the neighborhood in which the fire started all during that the time."  
  
"He got off easy."  
  
"That was the general consensus of the neighborhood as well, Lady Sango."  
  
"No police?"  
  
"They helped with the torture."  
  
Kagome shudders. "A man, his wife and three small children died in the blaze, over a minor insult, Lady Kagome." Miroku explains.  
  
"Did the shard have anything to do with that fire, woman! That's why I woke you up!" Inu-yasha says nastily as he approaches Kagome.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, Inu-yasha, I was still sleepy." She concentrates. "I don't think so, but that's pretty far away, Inu-yasha."  
  
"Feh"  
  
end flashback  
  
They both look at each other, sigh, put on small grins and start walking to the city again.  
  
At the river front . . .   
  
"Move It, Women!" "Get out of the way!" "Coming thru!"   
  
Both girls have to quickly move to the side of the street to get out of the way of a gang of men which are unloading a barge full of semi-cut logs. Four men to a log, two at each end, they pick up the logs and move them off the barge and into the hands of other men, waiting to take them into the city. A man in a fancy kimono is arguing with what looks to be the captain of the barge.   
  
"That is twice the price you said they would be!" the rich man yells.  
  
"There is a new, nasty pirate on the inland sea, Lord. You either pay him, or he sinks your ship. I paid him. I am passing on the cost, Lord."  
  
"I wouldn't pay!"  
  
"Boys! Stop! We've got a problem!" The men stop and take a rest.  
  
"You will unload those logs and I will pay the price we agreed to earlier." The rich man says with determination.  
  
"I am sorry, Lord, But I cannot do that. That terrible pirate."  
  
"I do not believe you."  
  
"Boys! Come over here and explain our problem on the inland sea to the gentlemen."  
  
Sango and Kagome move around the group as they crowd around and start yelling stories at the rich man. They are about to cross of the Shijo street bridge, when Sango puts her hand of Kagome arm and says, "stop, I want to hear this, I thought I heard something."  
  
They can hear one the of sailors on the barge saying, " . . . like my friend said, then the bastard raised his staff and the crystal glowed and lightning hit the ship." He points to a small burn area on the side of the barge. "Then he waved the staff and waves started to crash over the ship . . . "  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each other. Kagome says, "crystal"  
  
Sango grimaces, "do we tell the boys?"  
  
"Of course, but only after we get the shard here."  
  
Sigh, "how's your swimming."  
  
"I tried out for the swim team, but didn't make it. You?"  
  
"I don't drown."  
  
Sigh, "lets go in." And they cross the bridge.   
  
As they cross the bridge, Sango points downstream. A small crowd of people has gathered about a hundred meters away from the bridge. They are dragging out a nude, headless body from the river. "Do we go see?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Is the shard there?"  
  
"No"  
  
"If we go there, people are going to ask questions. And we really can't answer a lot of questions."  
  
"So . . . we go on . . . "  
  
"Yes"  
  
On the other side of the bridge they can see several men and women carrying brownish, black, smelly baskets on their back go up to a barge and dump the human waste into a barge. As they approach the barge, a few men with sticks and clubs come up and try to attack them, but the men on the barge pull out sticks and clubs and attack the new men. People on the bridge and near the checkpoint into the city can see the fight, but everybody is ignoring it.   
  
'I would like to ask about it, but, we've supposed to be looking for a shard and they don't have it. And the more we talk and ask questions, the more likely somebody will ask questions back, questions that we may not be able to answer, so . . . we'll have to ignore it, as well.' Kagome thinks. Both girls quickly move past the area and approach the city gate.  
  
There are many walled compounds within in the city limits. However, there is no true wall around the city. So, they don't have to go through any gates, but as they approach they can see that people that don't go through the checkpoint along the road are watched and followed more closely than people going thru the checkpoint. If they were familiar with the city, they could avoid the watching eyes, but being new to the city, they would be caught and questions would be asked . . . They look at each, shrug, and go up to the checkpoint.  
  
There is a line at the checkpoint, they can see that when people are going into and out of the city, they are being asked questions by various groups. Men are having a tougher time than women. As they go through the checkpoint, the two girls don't have that much of a problem. A couple of pats on their backsides, but their experienced glares take care of the soldiers that do it.  
  
From listening to the questions and conversions around them they realize that at least three families: Ashikago (the official shogun's troops), Hosokawa, and Ouchi have checkpoints set up at this gate. They are asking questions of anybody entering. The official city guards, on the other hand, are doing just a very per functionary check and just passing people thru.  
  
"They're scared, those families." Sango says under her breath to Kagome. "They're trying to find out about the shard and they don't know what to do."  
  
"Yeah, Miroku, thought that there would be checkpoints and questions. They seem to ignoring women, though."  
  
"Yes, now that we're past that, let's walk around and tell me when you can sense the shard."  
  
As they walk through the city streets . . .   
  
There is a couple of stone walled compounds, but most houses, shrines, building are made out of wood. Many have gilded or lacquered signs on them. Blue is the most common they see. The houses and buildings, if they are painted at all, have mainly blue paint or have blue banners, etc. Some other s also occur, but they see very little green (except for the tress that rise from within the walled compounds) or yellow.  
  
Some of the banners and signs Kagome points out to Sango. The calligraphy and how much the calligrapher changed the characters to make them fit the space available are occasionally small works of art themselves. The calligraphy lesson that Kagome's mother has given her allows her to have an appreciation for the skills used. She brings her left arm up to wipe some imaginary sweat off her brow, so she can make sure she gets some good shots of the better signs with the video camera, for her mother.  
  
From many of the buildings comes the smell of various incenses. Each building tends to have a different smell, and in some places, it's obvious to the two girls that the owners of the buildings have gotten together to make sure the incenses complement it other.  
  
For Kagome, used to town planning and such, the buildings are very chaotic. Each building is totally separate from the others. They can see a Shinto shrine next to a common shack selling food or perhaps some walled compounds, with a tall pagoda sticking up, next to an open field where farm families have brought in food and crafts to sell.   
  
To Kagome, the sounds of the city are very different from what she's used to. The sound of her geta and all the other getas that many people are wearing causes a 'clop, clop' undercurrent to everything. The sounds of the bells of the city as people strike them in worship at the many Shinto and Buddhist temples are a far more pleasant sound than that of car traffic, and sirens she hears in her time. Although the squealing sound of badly or ungreased axles on the carts being driven through the city, do make the girls cover their ears every so often. (AN1)  
  
Kagome tries to remember movies about old Kyoto and compare. 'The movies have more stone buildings, but otherwise, they're OK. The people, the clothing, it's a little dirtier than in the movies, but, they're very close. But that could be because me and Sango are going thru the working area of the city.'  
  
The two girls reach the burned out area at Omiya and Hachijo (see map 2 for any street names), and . . . "Nothing here, Sango." Kagome announces.  
  
Sigh. "So, we keep on walking."  
  
"It was the explosive powder that caused the fires, sir." They hear as the pass a group of men looking over the burned out area.   
  
"Explosive powder, let's stop, Sango, I want to hear this." Kagome says as she places her hand on her friend's arm.  
  
"How soon before you can start making more?" a samurai wearing a rich kimono and a couple of swords is asking.  
  
"Well, we only lost a couple of night watchmen, so. Once, I can buy some more supplies and get a new building, I still have the workmen to make it. Say a week or so and I should have more ready by then." A man in a fancy kimono says to him.  
  
"Good enough, I'll tell my lord what you said." The samurai says as he leaves.  
  
"I want to follow him, Sango." Kagome whispers.  
  
"Why?" she whispers back.  
  
"I want to make sure about something."  
  
"Could you be more specific?"  
  
"Remember when I told you guys about guns and such?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I think that they had gunpowder here and this samurai is going to where there are guns. And I want to make sure about it."  
  
"Ok. We need to go somewhere else anyway." Sango finishes as they follow the samurai. He ignores the couple of peasant girls following him. After a few minutes walk, he approaches a walled compound between Kujo and Hachijo on Suzaku street.   
  
At the gate of the compound a man is calling out, "see the Tanegashima's! A demonstration of the Tanegashima's will start in a little while! Come in and see them!"   
  
There is a small stream of people, man and women, going into the gates, the girls join the stream. "Tanegashima? Kagome, that's not what you called them."  
  
"Yes, I know, I've heard the term before, but" Kagome shakes her head, "I just can't remember what it means."  
  
Inside the compound is an archery range. People are lined up alongside it. At one end are several hay targets, at the other end is about a half-dozen samurai. They are working on a couple of long tubes with wooden handles. They are cleaning them and doing other things to them. The girls can't get too close to the weapons, only samurai are allowed close. But they can see enough to interest them. "Oh! Now I remember. When the Portuguese first showed up, it was at the town of Tanegashima and the muskets they sold were named after the town, at least for the first few years." Kagome whispers to Sango.  
  
"Muskets?"  
  
"Primitive guns, Sango. Watch, this should be interesting and since it's a new weapon, you might enjoy it."  
  
After a few minutes of more yelling to get ready, the man stops and the samurai at with the weapons, loads, aims and fires the musket at one of the targets. A big cloud of smoke appears when he fires the gun and the hay target shivers when the bullet hits it. It takes about a minute to reload and fire the gun again.  
  
The samurai puts the musket down and calls over some of the watching samurai. At this time, the man that was yelling, starts up again, saying, "There will be demonstration of the."  
  
The girls can see several samurai go up to the samurai that were firing the gun. They, obviously, are asking about getting some for themselves.  
  
"Selling guns, Ok. I've seen enough, Sango. Let's go." The girls join the stream as they leave the compound.  
  
"Those guns you've mentioned, Kagome. You made them seem worse than that."  
  
"They are, Sango. Like this little knife on my arm is compared to Inu-yasha's sword."  
  
"Oh. Now I think I understand, maybe, is there a way to get some of your guns? It would help against . . . "  
  
"I've thought about it, but it's hard to get them. Now that I'm telling my mother more," Kagome shakes her head, "maybe, but it's very doubtful."   
  
As they move north on Suzaku Street, they see what looks like, to Kagome, a traffic jam. About a half-dozen ox-drawn carts are trying to go north. And same number ox-drawn carts are trying to go south. There is ample space for the two groups of carts to go around each other, but they are stopped in front of each other. The two girls can hear the samurai guards around each group of carts yelling at each other.   
  
"They're arguing about who gives way? Is that what you hear, Sango?"  
  
"Yes, they are comparing family history and court offices to determine it." She pauses, "well, they were . . . " she stops as somebody, they are too far away to see just who, has pulled a sword and what was a loud argument, has now turned into a melee in the middle of the street. "Let's get back, before we get caught in this." (AN2)  
  
"Yes, thru this alleyway." Kagome points to the small street between Rokujo and Gojo on Suzaku, and they enter it.  
  
'And I thought road rage was a new phenomenon.' Kagome thinks as she shakes her head.   
  
As they go through the alleyway, they see a sign for a bathhouse. They look at each other, and Kagome says, "We traveled long, hard and fast to get here, and we've only had a couple of quick baths this last week. I need to get clean. You?"  
  
A small smile curves Sango's lips, and she says in a light voice, "I suppose, Kagome. Besides places like this are great for hearing rumors and such."  
  
As they enter an older man, in his fifties perhaps, greets them, "Hello, how may I help?"  
  
"Hello, sir. We would like to use your establishment, sir." Sango says as she bows to the man.   
  
The man bows back, "thank you for coming. This is your first time here, right?"  
  
"Yes, we just entered the city today, sir." Kagome says as she bows to the man.  
  
"Good, you'll see a small room off to your left for your clothes and packs. Once you've disrobed, go through the other doorway and the baths will be in front of you." He motions his arm to invite the girls in. After they enter, he softly coughs, says, "there is a small fee, of course. The cost to heat the water and such."  
  
"OH. Of course, I'm sorry," Kagome apologizes as she reaches into her kimono and into the pocket sewed into the sleeves. She pulls out a hand full of small copper Chinese coins (AN3). (On their way here, Miroku has changed some of her mother's gold, into more useable copper and silver coins. He gave most of them to the girls before they left this morning.) "How many?"  
  
He looks at them as he says, "three," Kagome hands him the coins and both girls go into the disrobing room.  
  
In the room, there are a few people, men and women, either disrobing or putting on their clothes. There is only a small chest high see-through lattice work screen separating the sexes. There is also a boy, perhaps twelve or so, sitting off in one corner, where he can see both sides on the screen. He is watching everyone. Both girls slowly disrobe. They are trying to get a feel for the place. They see one the men before he leaves flip the boy a small coin and say, "thanks for watching my stuff, boy."  
  
Once they hear that, they relax a little and finish disrobing. Sango looks closely at the boy and notices the slingshot by his hand. They grab towels from their supplies and some of the bath supplies. (The ones, that don't seem out of place. Not the modern shampoo's in the plastic bottles, etc. Kagome is going to have to borrow from Sango for once . . . )  
  
"Kirara, just stay here and watch." Sango says to her cat, before the two girls go into the main bath area.  
  
Once into the bath area, what they had thought about the bathhouse, they see is true. This is a mixed bath, so men, women and children are visible as they wash and soap themselves. There is about two to three dozen people in the room. They are about evenly divided between men, women and children.   
  
Kagome looks around when she enters. She notices three teenage boys sitting against the outer wall, they are looking at the women in the bath and Kagome can see movement around their crotches. One of them notices Kagome's glance and puts on a grin and 'accidently' shifts the towel covering his crotch for a couple of seconds. Kagome blushes down to her chest and nudges Sango.   
  
Sango glances over, sees the boys nudging each other and looking at them. Sango stares back and puts some heat into that stare. The boys, quickly, find other women to stare at.  
  
Sango tries to cover herself as much as possible, but by the time they finish soaping and cleaning themselves, she is sure some of the people in the room have noticed her scars. "Don't worry about it, Sango, there are other people with scars here, as well." Kagome whispers to her friend, nudging her to look at some of the men. The men do have scars, like Sango, a couple of them have old fire burns and other types of scaring.   
  
At the main pool are two groups of people. One male and one female. There is a couple of mixed groups, but these are obviously families, taking baths and trying to control their children. The two girls go the main heated pool and sit close, but not very close to the group of women that are gossiping in the pool.   
  
From looking around and listening, they are quite sure that the people in the bathhouse, are townspeople. Common tradesmen, like carpenters, scribes, night watchmen, generic shop owners, shoe makers, clothes makers, laundry ladies, hair dressers, candle stick makers, and such (no butchers, in case your wondering), they are either the wives of the men in these trades, or the men themselves, taking a bath.  
  
These are not nobles or samurai families, that the girls hear stories about, these are the salt of the earth people behind the scenes that you never hear about in the stories. (Except, of course, for some of the romances where a prince falls in love with a washer woman.)  
  
"New in town?" an older, mid-forties, early fifty's woman, asks them as they settle down. From listening and looking as they were cleaning up, the girls understand that this woman seems to be the leader of the female gossipers. From some of the orders she has given, she's probably the wife of the owner of the bathhouse.  
  
"Yes, we just arrived today." Kagome replies.   
  
"Just you, two?" the woman asks.  
  
They look at each other, and they realize that the complex story that Miroku had worked on, and went over with them all week on, will not work. Miroku and Inu-yasha aren't here . . .   
  
"Yes, well, we had two male companions, but somehow in the city, we got separated." Sango quickly says.   
  
"Oh, two young girls, like yourselves, shouldn't be alone. If you don't mind, why did you come to the city. Looking for work?" the woman asks.  
  
"My mother is a painter in the province of Musashi, and she sent me, my friend here, and our companions, as guards, to get a critique on her paintings." Kagome quickly says.  
  
"Ah, who were you going to see?" one of the other women asks.  
  
Kagome answers with names off the list of artists her mother gave her. A couple of the women start talking with Kagome, and within a few minutes all the women and a couple of the men are arguing about artists and who's the best. Kagome has listened to her mother enough that she can give some informed opinions and quickly becomes one with the gang of gossipy women.  
  
As this starts, Sango looks around to see how the rest of the people in the bathhouse are reacting and she notices a young girl, about Kagome's age, and an older man, mid-thirties perhaps, go into a small room off to one side. The room is marked, private massages. 'It's too late to leave now . . . ' she thinks.  
  
Sango turns her attention back to Kagome and the gossipers, and she gently shakes her head as she thinks, 'I've never understood this, in just a few minutes, Kagome, has worked her magic again. From being suspicious of us to being included in their gossip in such a short period of time, is something I could never do. Miroku and I have argued between us about how easily Kagome makes' people like and trust her. I still say it's her, not her magic like Miroku thinks. If you talk to Kagome for more than a few minutes, she works her magic and she becomes your instant trusted friend, unless, of course, you're Naraku or Sesshoumaru.' A small smile appears on her mouth.   
  
"You have a nice smile. What's your name?" one of the younger women asks Sango. She's in her mid-twenties.  
  
"Oh, sorry, my name is Sango and my friend's name is Kagome."   
  
"My name is Aoi. If you don't mind, your scars . . . "  
  
"....are still a sensitive subject." Sango quickly says.   
  
"Of course, I have a girl friend that told a samurai no, and so I understand." She says, hiding her face behind her spread hand. "I am sorry, if I offended."  
  
"No, I'm used to it." Sango says with a sigh. 'She thinks I was injured when I was raped, but, Telling them I'm a female demon exterminator might cause a greater problem than letting her believe that . . . ' Sango thinks.   
  
Then Sango gets an idea and asks, "Last night, as we were camping outside the city, we saw a large fire in the city and as we were walking around the city we heard rumors about a crystal causing it, do you know anything about it?"  
  
This distracts the group from their discussion about artists, and they start talking about the fire and rumors about the shard. Within only a few minutes it begins to dawn on Sango and Kagome that Miroku was understating the number of rumors about the shard that is circulating around Kyoto. More than a dozen families and in some cases, three or four branches of the same family, are said to have a shard or shards. The stories are very confused and in so cases very strange. Trying to make heads or tails of them would be impossible.  
  
A few minutes after the discussion starts, a new woman joins the group and quickly joins in on the gossip. Her bit of gossip causes both girls to start and quickly decide to memorize it.   
  
The gossip: "My cousin, who cleans the clothes for the Emperor's astrologer, heard that the astrologer has told the emperor that his spells have told him that the protectors of the jewel and her companions either are in Kyoto or will be here soon."   
  
This causes the group to start gossiping about the jewel. It's history and its protector. Both girls have a hard time keeping a straight face at some of the stories. They are sooo wrong. But after listening for a few minutes, they put together the following as the truth in Kyoto at least for this group of gossipers. Who knows what another group of gossipers might believe . . .   
  
The shard is part of a larger jewel. That there is at least four (it could be as high as ten) shards of the jewel in Kyoto. The owner of the jewel will become the next Shogun. The protector of the jewel is a very powerful, very dignified Miko. (Someone that very defiantly, would not be gossiping with the commoners.) That Inu-yasha is after the jewel and is expected to arrive in Kyoto soon.   
  
Some of the stories about his family also come out. The two girls understand Miroku's confusion about what Inu-yasha did sixty years ago. The only thing that is constant in the stories is that Inu-yasha caused the imperial palace to burn down. But they also understand, that Miroku was also correct about Inu-yasha not being able to enter Kyoto. Sesshoumaru and his family are hated and feared in Kyoto and the families of Kyoto will band together to kill them.  
  
Interrupting the gossip, a young boy, nine or ten years old, comes of the women and says, "Mom, I've a problem in the back, the burakumin are fighting again."  
  
The older woman, whose name is Chika, gets up and says, "I'll be right back, girls, we've had this problem before."  
  
Kagome and Sango look confused, and their gossipy companions fill them in on the details.  
  
"Oh, you two must come from a very small village, here, I'll explain . . . "  
  
People gather night soil (human waste) and sell it for fertilizer. Kyoto is the largest city in Japan, and as such, makes the most night soil. Since selling fertilizer is a very profitable business, there is always a competition for the night soil. With a war over the shards assumed to begin soon, the families that control the night soil are fighting. Once the war starts, gathering the night soil, will be harder and the families want to get all they can before the war starts. (AN4)  
  
'That explains the fight outside the city,' Kagome thinks.  
  
Chika comes back gets back into the pool, sighs and shakes her head, "Idiots . . . Now where were we . . . "  
  
"I'm a bit confused, everybody thinks that there will be a war soon, but none of you seem all that worried?" Kagome asks hesitantly.  
  
"Now about the possible war . . . " Chika begins.  
  
"What do you mean possible? It will happen, soon. The astrologer that lives on my block says this week." One of the women says.  
  
"They have been saying that for the last month, you know. But," Chika shakes her head, "war isn't a very big concern. As long as you get out of the samurai's way, we've safe."  
  
"Yes, if they kill my husband who will build their houses?" "Or wash their clothes?" "Hell, who'd make their clothes." The other women start talking over each other.  
  
"Girls, the only people in Kyoto that really worry about the war are nobles and samurai. For us, the little people, we endure it. But, except that occasionally when you have to rebuild, they leave you alone."  
  
"When you're an old woman like you, maybe . . . " one of the younger women says.  
  
"I had that problem when I was younger, girl. But even that you can survive. I know."  
  
"Actually, a war would be a good thing. The winner would be a powerful family and if this magic gem is as powerful as it should be, he'll conquer the warlords. A powerful Shogun is just want we need. Once the independent warlords are controlled, then all the problems will be solved. And if we have to endure a little to get that good future, so be it." One of the men who has been listening adds into the discussion. Everybody nods or says, "yes" in agreement to him.   
  
"Yes, all these weak shoguns and independent warlords are destroying the country." One of the women says, and this comment gets more nods.  
  
As this discussion takes place, Sango notices the girl and the man leave the room. The girl goes and cleans herself up. She then joins the group. "Mom, I'm going to take a break for a few minutes." She says to Chika as she slides into the pool.  
  
Sango's face goes white and she gulps. Aoi, sees this and leans over and whispers into Sango's ear. "From an old time village, I see. Don't worry about it. She's just taking care of the customers, like a good girl. It's means nothing, really. She's engaged to the son of another bathhouse owner, who knows what's happening. It's everything is fine, really." (An5)  
  
The comment about weak shoguns starts the group into gossiping about the various noble and samurai families in Kyoto.   
  
The shogun, whose name is Ashikago Yoshiteru, at this point in time, is very weak. The Hosokawa family is the most powerful in Kyoto. They have been appointing the last couple of shoguns. But no family has a large military advantage. And if a family goes to war and loses men, well . . . their power decreases. So if a family doesn't want to cooperate with the shogun, the shogun or the Hosokawa family does not the military force to make the other family obey.  
  
Each family looks after its own interests first and then the shogun and then the emperor. Each family has its own friends, and enemies and once a war starts, knowing exactly which family will help which family is a very iffy chance, the families of Kyoto and Japan are free to do as they wish. (The result of 200 plus years of civil war as caused the authority of the shogun and emperor to reach its lowest point . . . ) The rumors about who is backstabbing who at this point in time are very confusing.   
  
Also, the two girls get an earful of some very dirty gossip. Drunk idiots, violent maniacs, multiple affairs between various members of various families are all included. One of the girls evens claims that her parents worked for a noble family when she was born. But since she was the first child of the heir of the family, she was given to her adopted parents, a laundress and her husband, so officially, a boy would be the first child of the heir of family.  
  
After a long while, the girls make their excuses and leave the bathhouse. "Well, Inu-yasha, might think we wasted our time, but I think we learned a lot, right, Sango." Kagome says once they leave the building.  
  
"Yes, a lot to think over. I'm most concerned about that bit of gossip about the emperor's astrologer."  
  
"Yes, that is something to think about." sigh. "Miroku would know more about the possible magic we might meet. I'm just not trained that well."  
  
"Training or no training, Kagome. I think we've just been thrown into the deep end and told, swim . . . "  
  
After eating lunch and walking north, they come up to what looks like a parade blocking Sanjo street as they try to go north on Suzaku  
  
A golden Buddha statue being carried on the shoulders of eight strong men. This Statue is in the front of the parade. Behind it is a large group, a couple of thousand at least, of monks. Most of the monks have strong staff, similar to Miroku's, but typically plainer. These staff's look more like weapons than his does. Most of the monks also tend to look more like soldiers in a monk's robe than monks. They are chanting in a broken rhythm some mantra as they walk.   
  
Oddly, the regular citizens of Kyoto are just staring, with sullen expressions on their faces, not with any real excitement at the parade. Kagome gently approaches one of the women watching and asks quietly, "I'm new to Kyoto, why the long face?"  
  
"New to the city?" the woman replies softly, "well lets step back a bit and I'll tell you."  
  
They move back away, so the parade isn't visible. "Those are bastard monks from mountain Hiei. There are marching to show their strength. Their leaders are with the shogun and other families right now. They are making demands upon the shogun, and if the shogun says no. Well, the next time they parade, the monks will have on armor and real weapons and will decide to riot and destroy the parts of the town. You start to wonder who actually is in charge, the shogun, the high priest of hiei, or perhaps someone else." She looks around. "And since you're new here, be careful, some of these monks do un monkish things to women, if they catch you, so be careful." She then leaves the two girls. (AN6)  
  
The two girls, making sure that there are other people around, move close to the parade again. It is blocking the street that they want to travel down. They are planning to wait until the end of the parade and then continue. But, one of the monks, interrupts his chant, and he starts looking around. His eyes lock on Kagome's. Kagome starts to move away, with Sango following. The monk follows as well. Kagome starts to go down some of the alleyways trying to shake the monk. But they are new to the city, and the monk who is very familiar with the city, so he can't be shaken and quickly keeps up with the two girls.  
  
Sango waits until they find an empty alleyway, then she drops a gas bomb from her sleeve. (She tries to be prepared . . . ) In the couple of seconds that the smoke conceals the two girls, Sango grabs Kagome and jumps up to the roof of the building they were walking by.  
  
Sango covers Kagome's mouth, to prevent her from yelling, as they land on the roof. "sssshhh . . . " she whispers into her ear.  
  
The monk looks around confused, the two girls he was following have just vanished. From the rooftop, the two girls hear. "Her aura, so powerful, so mysterious. She has to be a demon. I must tell the abbot." He turns around and leaves the alleyway.   
  
"My aura . . . " Kagome starts.  
  
"I didn't realize it was that powerful, Kagome."  
  
Kagome grimaces, "I didn't either. This could cause problems, If a regular monk can detect . . . My coming here might have been a mistake." She's looking down at the ground, speaking softly when she finishes. 'My plan might not work . . . ' she thinks.  
  
"Not every monk detected your aura, Kagome. I noticed many of the monks lecherously staring at you and me, but he was the only one that saw something odd. Plus, only your ability to detect the shard will allow us to succeed. There is no way we could make sense of all those rumors, you know that." She says trying to cheer up her friend.  
  
"I suppose you're correct, Sango." Kagome says.   
  
After they have Kirara check to make sure the monk is gone, the jump down and walk on.  
  
Late afternoon . . .   
  
Suddenly, Kagome stops and looks at the walled compound to her right. A smile appears, "It's there, Sango." She says softly, nodding toward the compound at Omiya and Nakamikado, near the old palace grounds, which over the years has fallen into decay and has been basically abandoned.   
  
Sango smiles, and she looks at the compound. "Now it begins . . . "  
  
End chapter three . . .   
  
Authors' notes:  
  
(AN1) The description of the city streets of Kyoto was from the book "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan." What I used was the visual description of Yokohoma in 1890. Paraphrasing the "My first day in the Orient" ch. I made up the incense lines based on the stories about incense contests. The noble houses had pre-1200. The sound lines are basically my imagination.   
  
(AN2) traffic jam: based more on Kyoto pre-1200. But the story itself is pretty correct. You get two groups of samurai and they walk into each, one has to give way and if there is confusion about who should. Well, if the other is dead, that solves the confusion, correct?  
  
(AN3) Chinese coins . . . At this point in time, Japan imported copper Chinese coins for money. Paid the Chinese gold and got copper coins. They didn't re-minted them, just used them as is.  
  
(AN4) night soil: To give the reader an idea about how valuable night soil was. You could, depending on the place (some places it was more valuable than others), get a meal (rice and pickles, basically) for a bowel movement. Rents were adjusted in cities depending on how much night soil was produced. In one example 10 families of the course of a year might get half a gold ryo (equal to about 3 to 3.5 ounces of silver) for the night soil. Small wars were fought over control of it. While it is handled by the burakumin under, due to the money involved and the shogun's were interested in it. (They just made sure that there were many, many layers of people controlling the night soil between them and the burakumin.)  
  
(AN5) bathhouse girls. Mixed baths and sex . . . It happened. Some bathhouses were more brothel than bathhouse. Some were more bathhouses than brothels. This bathhouse is basically a bathhouse. Only the owner's daughter and only with special customers. Since she's marring into a bathhouse family, who knows wants happening (they do the same thing at their place), there isn't that much problem. You meet her outside the bathhouse and the girl will be a shy, innocent appearing girl, only in the bathhouse will her behavior change.  
  
Bathhouse scenes: until 1860, mixed baths were common in Kyoto and other major cities. I've tried to mix and match from a couple of stories/sources. I think it's pretty close.   
  
Gossip . . . I had to have some way to get the information to the readers. I probably overused this plot device, but . . . I couldn't think of anything else. It did take the girls at least an hour, probably two hours to get the information.  
  
(AN6); the monks: even in Nara, before Kyoto was founded, the monks were a problem. When they wanted something, they would march into Nara or Kyoto and make demands. If the emperor and later the shogun, did not meet their demands, well . . . a couple of thousand men would loot the city . . . And since, the monks are supposed to speaking with the voice the god . . . refusing them, was always a problem. The move from Nara to Kyoto in 800ad was supposed to get rid of the problem. But the monasteries on mt Hiei . . . In the 1570's Oda Nobunaga as he was unifying Japan, destroyed mt hiei. Thousands of monks were killed and executed. Oda Nobunaga was a hard man, and his solution to people that opposed him was extermination.   
  
The monk and his noticing Kagome's aura . . . She is special, and there are a lot of people in Kyoto that make a living with magic. Astrologers and such were very powerful and respected people. This will be a problem for her . . .   
  
General authors' note: Hmmm . . . I still would like some reviews and/or private comments about my story. I would like to get at least 1 review per 1000 words before I continue the story.   
  
I do have, if you click on my pen name, a list of potential stories/ideas, I would like to get opinions of them. So, if you could, please look at the list and given me an idea about what to do next.  
  
Thank you  
  
jeff shelton 


	4. The boys Day

Chapter 4. The boys day....  
  
Before I start... I would like to thank all the readers of the story.   
  
At the end of ch 3, I mentioned that I would like 1 review per 1000 words. That did happen. (When you combine the reviews from fanfiction, mediaminner and a few private reviews)   
  
Thank you  
  
The readers of this story have been the most responsive group of readers I have.   
  
(Using fanfiction stats... approx 15% of the readers of Shard have reviewed/commented on the story. Compare that with less than 1% on Seppuku or Day after Inu-yasha proposes... even When Friends... and Spring fertility... have only about a 2% rate.)   
  
Thank you, again.  
  
What the boys were doing while Kagome and Sango walked around Kyoto.  
  
Kagome and Sango are small fading figures in the distance...  
  
"Inu-yasha, please, for their sake, stop thinking about following them." Miroku says as he watches him out of the corner of his eyes.  
  
Inu-yasha starts and his face reddens, from anger or embarrassment, Miroku cannot tell. "I was not thinking about that, stupid monk." He growls out.   
  
"What do we do now, Inu-yasha, Miroku?" Shippo asks in a quiet voice.  
  
"We stay here and wait for them, what else, idiot. That's what this damn monk here has convinced everyone to do." Inu-yasha replies as he approaches Shippo. He is about to pick him up, when THACK.   
  
Miroku's staff hits his hand. "He's not in the condition to take your normal abuse, Inu-yasha." he says as he puts the staff back on his shoulder. "And we are not staying here."  
  
"Why move?" Shippo asks.  
  
"If we move, how will the girls find us?" Inu-yasha looks at him with a suspicious glare.  
  
"Why move?" Miroku repeats and then answers, "Because, Shippo, people don't just sit and stare at Kyoto. They either go in or come out. Staying on this hillside, will simply tell however is looking that we are waiting for something or someone. And sooner or later somebody," he points with his staff at the nearby monastery, "from there or elsewhere will come by and ask questions."  
  
"In addition, when I was at the monastery, I did talk to people. Sooner or later, my friends are going to tell who they were talking to and my name will come up."  
  
"Stupid monk, hiding things from us..." Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
Miroku shrugs, "What's done is done. We adjust our plans and continue."  
  
"Monk, I'm going to ask again, then I'm going to hurt you... How will the girls find us, if we move?" Inu-yasha says as flexes his claws, staring at Miroku.  
  
Miroku points to the small glass jar hanging around Inu-yasha's neck. "Kagome can sense our shards." His eyes blink and he stares at the jar.   
  
His hand reaches out to grasp the jar. Inu-yasha's hand grabs Miroku's hand before it can touch the jar, "What do you think you're doing, monk." Inu-yasha hisses out.  
  
Miroku blinks his eyes a couple of times and he answers, "This is the first time, in a good long while, that I've been able to see exactly how many much of the jewel we have." his voice changes, acquiring a accusing tone, "You tend to dislike it, when I try to look at this, when it is hanging around Kagome's neck."  
  
"Because, you perverted monk, you're not looking at the shards, you are looking at Kagome's breasts." Inu-yasha spits out.  
  
"Believe what you wish, may I hold that for it a second." He points to the glass jar.  
  
"Hmmm, for a second."  
  
Miroku lifts the jar and looks hard at it. After a second he releases it and it falls onto Inu-yasha's chest. He quickly puts it under his clothes.  
  
Miroku shakes his head and stares at Kyoto, a puzzled look on his face.  
  
"What's up, Miroku?" Shippo asks, suspicious about his actions.  
  
Miroku starts, and replies, "I'm just surprised we have as much of the jewel as we do, Shippo."  
  
"Ok, monk, you've convinced me to move. We'll go south, away from that damned mountain." Inu-yasha points to mountain Hiei.   
  
"Good enough, Inu-yasha. Remember you," Miroku pulls a large black robe from somewhere. "Will have to wear this." He hands the robe to Inu-yasha.  
  
Inu-yasha looks at the robe with distaste, "I thought I'd lost that."  
  
"Inu-yasha, as I've said before. You cannot go around Kyoto with those ears showing. You will have to wear this robe, or something similar to hide those ears. And you," Miroku's voice intensifies, "will pretend to be an old man."  
  
Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Yeah, dog boy, act your human age for once." Shippo pipes in.  
  
Inu-yasha swipes at and grabs Shippo. Miroku quickly brings his staff down on Inu-yasha's arm. "Let go of him, Inu-yasha."  
  
Inu-yasha holds onto Shippo and growls at Miroku, 'I'm fucking tried of letting him boss me around. The girls might have thought his plans allowed him to do so, but they're not here now.' He thinks. Inu-yasha tightens his grip on the young fox demon. "The girls aren't here, monk. I'm going to do what I damn well wish to do."   
  
"Inu-yasha...." Miroku shakes his head. In a stern tone of voice, he says. "Inu-yasha, we don't have time for playing around. Drop Shippo, put on the robe and we leave as soon as we can."  
  
"Inu-yasha... you're hurting..." Shippo whines out. Blood is beginning to show where Inu-yasha's claws are digging into his fur.  
  
"Make me, fucking monk." He growls, staring Miroku in the face.  
  
Miroku begins to move his staff around, attracting Inu-yasha attention by making a quick move with it. Miroku's other hand, the one that is not holding the staff vanishes into his sleeve.   
  
He then quickly attacks with that hand. "Thought you could foo...." Inu-yasha starts to say, but once he grabs Miroku arm he freezes, paralyzed.   
  
Miroku drops his staff and pries Inu-yasha claws off his arm and pries Shippo out of the grasp of Inu-yasha's other hand. "You poor..." He shakes his head. "That spell, you could have broken were we away from Kyoto, Inu-yasha, and you still might here."   
  
Sweat beads on Inu-yasha forehead as he is trying to break the spell.   
  
"But, it will take time, Inu-yasha." Miroku pulls out a scroll and places it securely on Inu-yasha chest. "But that one, will hold you for awhile, anywhere."   
  
Miroku, sighs, and continues, "I told you this as we were coming here but you keep forgetting, so I'm going to tell you again. There are a dozen, perhaps two dozen priests, mystics, astrologers in Kyoto that are as powerful, if not more powerful, then I, Inu-yasha. You have to disguise yourself. Your ears are noticeable and once they are noticed, people will want to kill the demon. There are priests in Kyoto powerful enough to do it."  
  
"If they are that powerful, Miroku, what about his father and Sesshoumaru and their attacks." Shippo asks as he feels around, trying to determine the damage Inu-yasha did.  
  
"They were full blood, not half blood, Shippo. Also, both would have demon magic to stop human magic with them. Magic that Inu-yasha was never taught, and you were too young to learn." Miroku explains as the puts the robe over Inu-yasha and ties it on.   
  
"There, Inu-yasha, just remember to bend down and act like a seventy year old man." Miroku says, "I'm going to remove the scroll, Inu-yasha, no tricks." He takes off the scroll.  
  
"You fucking! Monk!" Inu-yasha shouts!  
  
"So, Inu-yasha, are we going to argue or go on?"  
  
Inu-yasha grits his teeth, flexes his claws, takes a deep breath and then he sighs, and points to the road going to the monastery. A group of people are on it and they are looking at Inu-yasha and Miroku. They are too far away to see any details, but... "We leave, monk."  
  
Miroku turns and looks, "They are going into the monastery. But, they are going to ask questions..." He bends down and starts going through Kagome backpack.   
  
"Monk, We are leaving, why are you going thru that." Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Yeah, I do not think Kagome is going to like that." Shippo adds in.  
  
"Ahh, Here is it." Miroku pulls out one of Kagome's textbooks. The title "Basic English"  
  
"I wish to leave her a note, just in case." Miroku takes out a modern pen and paper from his robes.   
  
"Where did you get those, monk?" Inu-yasha asks in a harsh tone.   
  
"She gave them to me." Miroku replies, without looking at Inu-yasha, he's busy looking through the book. "Ahh, here it is."  
  
"I don't remember that." Inu-yasha says in a flat tone.  
  
"Well, she did. If you want, you can ask her next time you see her." Miroku continues to reply while looking at the book. Miroku then starts to write on the paper.  
  
"That's not normal writing, Miroku." Shippo states as he goes over to look at what Miroku is doing.  
  
"No, Shippo, it's not. The language is English." Miroku replies distractedly.   
  
"When did you..." Inu-yasha starts.  
  
"She accidently left this book once, remember." Miroku says as he turns the page.   
  
'Yes, after an early adventure with the monk, she complained about losing a book. She replaced it, but she wasn't happy about it.' Inu-yasha thinks.  
  
"I started to look at it, trying to understand her schooling." He looks up and stares at Inu-yasha 'something, of course, he'd never try to do.' he thinks, and continues, "But, after thinking about it, I decided to see if I could learn the language. Would it not be a good thing, if say, when Kanna looks at us in her mirror... she can not understand what we are saying?"  
  
"Ohh..." Inu-yasha whispers, 'never thought about that. Hiding our plans from Naraku...' He blinks, 'hell, this even gives my an excuse to follow her to school.' He smiles, 'by going to her school, learning this english, whatever the hell it is, would mean that she'd never be out of my sight...'   
  
"Then why did you need that book, if you have the other, Miroku?" Shippo asks.  
  
"I left the other copy at Keade's village." Miroku says as he closes the book. "There that should do it." He puts the modern pen away and pulls out more traditional brush and ink set. At the top of the paper he writes a generic demon ward off spell.   
  
"You two should turn around. When I activate the spell, it might hurt you." Miroku says as he grabs one of Kagome's arrows. He pierces the scroll at the top and bottom and slips it onto the arrow shaft. He shoves the arrow into the ground. 'Good. A basic anti-demon protection. Nobody should bother it, even if there are parts of it that are unreadable.' He thinks as he rises.  
  
"Shippo, I know you're going to hate it, but you'll have to pretend to be Inu-yasha's sick grandchild." Miroku hides a grin as he speaks with Shippo.  
  
"I know, with the girls gone, I suppose he" Shippo points to Inu-yasha, "will have to carry me."  
  
"What!" Inu-yasha shouts.  
  
"He is your sick grandson. You are taking him to the various shrines and temples in and around Kyoto. You are trying to find a cure for the mysterious disease hurting him. Remember, Inu-yasha. This is the story we agreed on."  
  
"The girls aren't here, monk."  
  
"So, instead of Kagome pretending to be his mother and carry him, you'll have to carry him. He's still you're grandson."  
  
"Why, you...."  
  
THACK!  
  
Miroku lowers his staff after hitting Inu-yasha on the head. "You have to carry him and treat him properly Inu-yasha." Miroku sighs, "After all, you're to old to carry Kagome's bag, so I have to carry that..."  
  
Inu-yasha, while he outwardly grumbles about carrying Shippo, he is smiling on the inside. Miroku's back is going to hurt, a lot more than his head hurts from the hit of Miroku's staff.  
  
Miroku wraps Kagome's backpack in a dark robe and puts it on his back. 'Sigh, with Inu-yasha pretending to be an old man, somebody has to do this...' he thinks.  
  
They leave the area and walk south.  
  
"Monk, there was a bag, you forgot to put back into Kagome's pack." Shippo mentions after they leave the area.  
  
"Yeah, I noticed that too..." Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
"Remember when Kagome returned from her time, that bag Kagome pulled out and told us to ignore it."  
  
"Yes, something her grandfather came up with." Shippo says.  
  
"I want to find out wants in it. Kagome may think it's useless, but she doesn't know everything." Miroku speaks in a light voice.  
  
"We've gone far enough, Monk, open it up." Inu-yasha orders after looking around and not seeing anybody paying attention to them.  
  
"Ughh.." Miroku grunts out as he lowers Kagome bag to the ground. 'Every time I carry it, my admiration for her increases...' he thinks as he rubs his lower back.  
  
Miroku takes the bag out of his robes, opens it and copper and silver coins spill into his palm.  
  
"Useless!" Inu-yasha yells. "What the fuck was she thinking!"  
  
"Yeah, as much as I hate to agree his dog boy." Shippo says as he grabs one of the coins. "This is good money."  
  
Miroku lifts one up and examines it closely. "Hmmmm...." He picks up another and compares them side by side. "Yes... I see it."   
  
He holds the coin with his finger tips and points at some markings along the edge. "This is the problem. These are fake. Those marks... I don't know the language, but it's not Chinese or Japanese."  
  
"Hell, monk, most people aren't going to notice something that small." Inu-yasha says as he inspects one of the coins.  
  
"You are correct, Inu-yasha, if we were to use these coins in a small village, there should be no problems. But this is Kyoto. This type of problem will be spotted. Counterfeit coins do occur and the moneychangers in Kyoto are trained to spot them. " He holds up a hand to stop Inu-yasha from interrupting. "Yes, the chances are we can still use them without discovery, but the chance of discovery is still there."  
  
"So, useless, like Kagome said, right." Shippo says as he flips the coin in the air.  
  
"Now, Shippo, I didn't say that." Miroku says with a lilt in his voice. "These are good counterfeits and I know a moneychanger that will pay me for them."  
  
"Huh?" Shippo says. And Inu-yasha's ears perk-up as he is interested as well.  
  
"As I said, in small villages, this is good money. The moneychanger I know in Kyoto will buy these coins from me at perhaps ten to twenty percent of face value. He will then sell them to merchants that are planning to visit small villages. He'll sell the coins at perhaps fifty percent of the face value."  
  
"And merchant in the village will get full value for the coins." Inu-yasha declares. "Cheaters."  
  
Miroku nods, "Do you expect merchants to be honest? They want to make a profit, and this cheat helps. Though, they'll probably not cheat the villagers that much. He will want to return to the village in the future and being found out as a cheat, might cause problems."  
  
Miroku puts the coins back into the bag and places the bag in his robes. "If I get the chance, or if we need the money, I'll visit that moneychanger."  
  
Later... they approach one of main roads going south out of Kyoto.   
  
There is a procession on the road and they have to stop and wait for all the people in it to pass. It is a religious procession. There are monks, some chanting and some with incense filled censors, walking in it. Armed monks guard the procession. The heart of the procession is a cart. The ox drawn cart has a silken tent covering it. The monk at the head of the procession is carrying a staff with a symbol on it.  
  
"Ise..." Miroku whispers.  
  
"What monk, talk." Inu-yasha hisses.  
  
"The high priest of Ise is in that procession, Inu-yasha." Miroku whispers. Both Inu-yasha and Shippo can hear him.   
  
"That means..." Shippo starts to whisper.  
  
"That means if Kagome uses that scroll her grandfather made. She'll get into trouble. Quickly..." Miroku whispers back.  
  
"How do we tell her?" Shippo whispers.  
  
Miroku shrugs....  
  
As the cart passes, Inu-yasha with Shippo in his arms and Miroku with Kagome's bag on his back, there is movement in the silk curtains.  
  
Inu-yasha swallows hard. The hairs on the back of his neck are rising. Something just happened and he doesn't know what....  
  
Late afternoon.... the boys have traveled across the plain south of the city and are now in the mountains on the west side of the city.   
  
The boys are setting up camp when Shippo interrupts.   
  
"Look coming from we were this morning!" He points to the mountains on the other side of Kyoto.  
  
Marching down the down south of the lake Biwa is a column of men. The late afternoon sun glints off the spear points and metal armor.  
  
An army is marching down to the city.  
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku stop what they were doing and look at the column.  
  
"It's too far away for me. You, Inu-yasha?"  
  
"I can't make out the heraldry, Miroku."  
  
"I was hoping to know who was leading it, but, oh well... How many to you think?"  
  
"4,000, perhaps 5,000 men."  
  
"A large army." Shippo says.  
  
"Not really, Shippo, during the last big war in Kyoto, there were depending on who you ask, anywhere from 150,000 to 300,000 warriors in Kyoto." Miroku says.  
  
"Yeah, A small player, nobody important, really. But... " Inu-yasha says, "but, this means the vultures are gathering and more warriors will be heading into the city."  
  
"Yes, if the families in the city haven't already sent for reinforcements..." Miroku starts.  
  
"They'll be plenty of messengers leaving Kyoto tonight..." Inu-yasha finishes.  
  
Shippo shudders. Kitsune powers are wide and varied and sometimes even visions of the future or the long past are possible.... And for a second a vision passed in front of the his eyes.   
  
The city below was in flames. Flames covered a good quarter of the city. Another quarter of the city was in ruins. Warriors were fighting in and among the rest of the city. Columns of men were fighting other columns of men in the streets of the city. Smoke filled the air. Smoke heavy with the smell of burning human flesh...  
  
End chapter four....  
  
Author's notes:  
  
I think I covered the counterfeit coins in the text. Just to complete. The coins are modern fakes that the temple sells as old coins to tourists. Kagome was afraid that the roman numeral markings on them would give them away. Plus to her, they are fake coins and she knows it. And passing counterfeit coins is something she thinks is wrong.  
  
During the Onin war 1470-1480. Both sides had, at the wars height, about 80,000 to 90,000 men each. (160,000 to 180,000 total). I don't think they were all in Kyoto's city limits, but... Also, stories and reports that Miroku would have read would have exaggerated the total anyway. Historical accuracy is a modern invention, ok. During this time each side would have exaggerated or downplayed their troop totals depending on what type of message they wanted to tell everybody.   
  
Hmmm... probably not the best chapter I've written, but the boys day was supposed to be dull, anyway.   
  
Chapter five will be Sango's and Kagome's first night in Kyoto.  
  
It will probably be a couple of weeks before I get it up. I want to finish "spring fertility festival 1ch & epilog left on it" and "when the boys are away 1 ch and & epilog left on it"  
  
Once those two are finished I am planning on concentrating on "A shard in Kyoto."  
  
I will give a list of possible stories as I end Spring. And I will let the readers there, make a suggestion as to what I do next. But, I am planning on taking a couple weeks after spring and just doing "A shard in Kyoto." (I want to get at least 2 more chapters of "A shard in Kyoto" out doing September, ok. And if somebody wishes to help me, ask, I have this story plotted out.)  
  
I will be posting spamfics and ranma stories, but the spamfics are simple (1hr or so each) and the ranma stories I wrote years ago. (I just have to clean them up, some. The formatting....shakes head)  
  
I would still like to get at least 1 review per 1000 words, btw. thank you in advance for any review.  
  
thank you for reading  
  
jeff shelton 


	5. first night

Shard 5 first night.  
  
Kagome and Sango's first night in Kyoto.  
  
Authors' note: In the interest of saving some dialog. I'm going to reduce the amount of customary polite phrases in the dialog. "Thank you, honorable sir. Pardon me, sir, etc." Sango and Kagome are normally polite girls and those phases are part of their normal speech pattern and as such, are included automatically. (Now, Inu-yasha on the other hand . . . ) I'm just ignoring them, in the interest of keeping the dialog as minimal as possible.  
  
Hmmm. I tried to find some info on inns. Most times they were mentioned, at this time period, it was in a negative way. But, a full description as to why they were bad, is never explained, shrugs. (Money hungry. Bad conditions, fleas, rats, etc., are mentioned, but that's it . . . so. what's in this part of the story is basically my invention.)  
  
In a monastery know as Higashi-Honganji. (This temple wasn't made until post 1600, but with that name, I had to use it.)  
  
"Sir. Earlier today, while in the city, I came upon two odd women." A monk says to his Abbott.  
  
"Odd Women?"  
  
"Yes, sir. One of the women had a very strange aura. Very powerful."   
  
"Someone important?"  
  
"No, sir. She appeared to be a normal peasant girl. No guards, just a female companion."  
  
"Hmmm . . . an unknown woman, with a powerful and strange aura in the city." The Abbott nods his head. "The rumors of the jewel of four souls. There are rumors of a powerful evil miko. Describe the woman."  
  
The monk gives an accurate description of Kagome and Sango, although his description is more accurate on their clothes, then their faces.   
  
"The clothes do not match, but the description of the face does." The Abbott raises his voice. "Scribe!"  
  
"Sir!" the scribe enters the room.  
  
"Take down the description he will give you." The Abbott points to the monk. "Add to it a warning that this woman is an evil miko. A reward will be posted for her."  
  
He pauses, "I want her alive." As the monk begins his description, the Abbott interrupts saying, "Make copies and have them posted around the city."  
  
"Sir, the aura I felt was strange, not evil." The monk brings up.  
  
"If she had been good, then she would have stopped and talked to you. She vanished instead. She's evil, she's just trying to hide her aura, you will be rewarded to seeing the truth." The Abbott says dismissing the correction.  
  
'She'll have knowledge of the jewel, at least, if not pieces of it in her possession.' He thinks. He smiles, 'That knowledge and power can be used to improve my position.'  
  
"Sir, lord Abbott, what name should I use?" the scribe asks.  
  
The Abbott looks at the monk. "Sir, I am sorry, sir, but I did not hear a name."  
  
'What is the name attached to those rumors?' the Abbott thinks.  
  
"Use Kikyo" the Abbott orders.  
  
In the Gion shrine in the city of Kyoto.  
  
"I need a scribe." The high priest of Ise orders. He is an old man easily into his seventh or eighth decade of life.  
  
"Sir. What do you wish me to write?" The scribe asks. His face on the floor, when he arrives.  
  
"Write a letter to my cousin. Tell him the bastard son of the great white dog demon is in the city."  
  
"Sess . . . " the scribe hesitantly begins to ask.   
  
"No, Inu-yasha. I felt him on my way into the city." The high priest of Ise declares. 'It's been decades, but I remember that night of chaos when he burned the palace down.' He thinks.  
  
"Sir. Lord, Which cousin should I address this to?" The scribe asks.  
  
"My cousin, the Emperor." The high priest says, then he continues, "To be polite, make copies and send it to the shogun and my cousin Hosokawa"  
  
'Hmmm, I wonder, who . . . that monk and old man. I felt something odd there, myself.' One of the assistant priests thinks. 'If I can track them from there. Killing Inu-yasha would be a great way to get noticed and promoted. I'll gather up a group of guards and see what I can do.' He thinks, as he overhears the High Priest and the scribe talk.  
  
Later . . .   
  
The assistant priest leaves the building with a group of a couple of dozen guards.   
  
The girl's location: Omiya and Nakamikado, near the old palace ground.   
  
The girls are staring at the compound where Kagome senses the shard.   
  
The compound is surrounded by wooden walls. It's a square compound is perhaps 50 meters to a side. Inside the compound they can see a couple of small trees above the wall. The walls are four to five meters high. There is also a small pagoda inside the compound. They can only see the top of it, so it's probably only three, maybe four stories high. The front gate has a sign that reads Yuki family  
  
"Well, Kagome. What next?"  
  
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sango. I assume walking up to the front door and asking for the shard would be a bad idea?"  
  
Sango looks at Kagome closely. Kagome's mouth twitches as she tries to hide a smile.  
  
"You know, Kagome, joking about this . . . " Sango starts, but . . .   
  
"Is better than being so serious all the time." Kagome finishes the smile is, now, fully formed.  
  
Sango sighs, "you might be correct. Still though, what do we do?" she thinks, 'I'm beginning to see why Inu-yasha can get upset with her. She refuses to take this seriously.'   
  
"Move it, girls!" one of the passing men calls to them as they stand in the busy street.  
  
"Ask for jobs?" Kagome looks around, "But first, let's get off the street."  
  
"Yes, lets." They move over to one side of the street. They find a quiet niche between a couple of buildings and they talk.   
  
"Well, Kagome. Asking for jobs, hmmmm. You know it'll be cleaning and other dirty jobs."  
  
Kagome raises an eyebrow and replies, "How else can we get in?"  
  
Sango leans out of the niche and looks at the walls of the compound. The wooden walls of the compound are thick enough that she can see guards walking along the top. "Hmmmm. Tonight, perhaps, I can sneak in."  
  
"Or better yet, Kirara, Sango."  
  
"Yes, if possible. Although . . . "  
  
"Communicating with Kirara is something we need to learn to do anyway, Sango."  
  
"We need to find other information as well, Kagome. Hmmm . . . a nearby bathhouse, or inn, perhaps?"  
  
"It is getting late." Kagome looks at the sky. Sunset will occur in less than an hour. "An inn would be best, I think. We'll need a room for the night, anyway."  
  
"An inn, though" Sango sighs, "You do remember what the monk said on the way here . . . "  
  
Flashback to a few days previously as Miroku is talking about Kyoto . . .   
  
It's nighttime. The group is sitting around a campfire, it's just after they have finished eating.  
  
"Staying overnight in Kyoto . . . we will probably have to do that, so. Let's talk about it." Miroku says in a musing voice.  
  
"First, most people visiting Kyoto will stay with family or friends. So, do we know anybody in Kyoto?" He looks around at the group.   
  
"Hell, No." Inu-yasha growls out.  
  
Shippo quietly speaks up, "Umm, my mom and dad mentioned someone, but . . . I don't remember them saying anything but Fukuyemon"  
  
"Fukuyemon, and they said nothing else, Shippo?" Miroku asks.  
  
Shippo shrugs, "they only mentioned it in passing. Something about a wedding . . . " he shakes his head, "I forget."  
  
'The Aoyama Clan. Do I mention them? No. They would want the shard to purify it themselves. I remember father mentioning a disagreement with them over which clan would purify the shard. Even though the jewel was formed in my village. They thought we had been trying for hundreds of years, and someone new should try, since we, in their view, could not do it.' Sango thinks.   
  
She shakes her head. "No, monk. I do not have any friends or relatives in Kyoto." She says in a brittle voice. Kagome reaches over, grabs her hand, and squeezes the hand for support. Miroku grimaces, he knows that is the wrong type of question to ask Sango.  
  
"Of course, Lady Kagome, the question does not apply to you, so . . . " Miroku begins, but Kagome interrupts.  
  
"Well, Miroku. It does, then again it doesn't" Kagome shyly says.  
  
"Could you explain?"  
  
Kagome swallows, "My family, at this time, is part of one of the shrines in Kyoto. After Edo starts to grow, my part of the family moves to Edo and sets up the shrine, where I live. So, technically speaking I do have family here, but."  
  
"But they don't know it, so, they are not going to be able to help." Inu-yasha sneers as he speaks. Kagome nods her head yes.  
  
"What about you, monk." Inu-yasha growls. "There was that friend from Kyoto that brought told us about the shard. Do you have more friends in Kyoto?"  
  
"Yes, I do, Inu-yasha. And I will give you their names and addresses. But." Miroku holds up his hand in a stop sign motion. "But, I only want to visit them in an emergency."  
  
"Why?" at least a couple in the group say at the same time.  
  
"Because, in all likelihood, when we leave Kyoto, we'll leave it in a hurry and we'll leave a mess behind." He looks at Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha acts as if he has no idea what the monk is trying to say . . .   
  
"I don't think we can plan on leaving Kyoto without some sort of fight. If we mention my friends, after we leave, people who will be upset with us, and they will go after my friends. So, out of my concern for their safety, I will greatly prefer that we only contact them in an emergency." He looks at the group. The group nods their heads, yes.  
  
"What sort of emergency, Monk?" Sango asks.  
  
"Hmmm, I'm not sure, Lady Sango. If we get injured, they could get a doctor faster than we could. Perhaps, a loan of some money, if we need it. Though, given Lady Kagome mothers' generosity, I don't think that'll be necessary."  
  
"How about if we get separated? That's happened to us in other adventures." Shippo pipes up.  
  
"Yes, Shippo. That would also be a good reason."   
  
"Ok, stupid monk, since you're so smart, where else do we sleep?" Inu-yasha asks.  
  
"Well, there are three other types of places to sleep in Kyoto. Most monasteries and temples will have space available for people to sleep. There are travelers inns in Kyoto. And finally, since Kyoto is always recovering from some sort of battle, there normally is some old ruined building that can be slept in." Miroku says. "Now, each one of those has its own special problems and benefits." He pauses . . .   
  
"Which are?" Kagome asks. 'If he wants a straight man, I'll do it. I just wish he'd tell us, without the lecture, but, oh well . . . ' she thinks.  
  
"The problem with staying at a monastery is, of course, the demons in our group." All three demons growl. "It is very unlikely they would be able to enter, much less stay any length of time inside most religious grounds."   
  
Miroku nods at Inu-yasha, "there are shrines devoted to various dog, cat and fox deities in Kyoto. But whither or not one would be close by when needed? That cannot be planned on. And even if there is a temple nearby. It would only help one of us, not all three."  
  
"Inns, then." Kagome prompts.  
  
"Remember, Kagome, that if you are rich, you already have friends and family in Kyoto, and if you don't have friends, well, you normally give a donation to one of the monasteries and sleep in nice quarters, and the next morning, you will have people that will want to be your friends waiting for you when you wake up. The only people that use inns are poor farmers, wandering craftsmen, merchants and other minor people, so the conditions are not pleasant." He pauses, then he continues.  
  
"Inns . . . inns have a couple of benefits, but have problems as well. First the benefits: Inns are places where various people gathers and as such, they are places where people gossip. So, we can find out rumors there. Second, a mixed group of men and women, like us, wouldn't cause that much of a concern. Third, innkeepers like money. Which could be useful in many ways."  
  
"The problems?"  
  
"There will people in the inns that gather rumors and gossip for money. So, if, say Inu-yasha's ears peak out." Inu-yasha growls loudly enough to interrupt the monk.   
  
'Did I miss something important?' he thinks. He was trying to ignore the long-winded monk.   
  
"As I saying, if his ears peak out, the rumors mongers will see and spread the tale. So, we will have to watch what we say and do. Second, IF we're right in assuming that tensions are building in Kyoto, then there will be samurai out looking to release some of that tension. They do that by drinking sake and having fights. And, well, if you're staying in an inn, then they will assume you have no family or friends in Kyoto. Without any family or friends, they'll consider you fair game for the fun they want to have." He nods at Kagome.   
  
Kagome pales and Sango grits her teeth. Inu-yasha pulls back his lips and grinds his teeth together. "However, since Inu-yasha and I will be with you two girls, that shouldn't be a problem. The third problem is, of course, that innkeepers like money."  
  
"Huh, you said that was a benefit?" Shippo asks.  
  
"It's a benefit only when we pay more money than anybody else pays him." Miroku replies.   
  
Inu-yasha stretches out his clawed right hand, "Or we frighten the bastard into silence." Miroku rolls his eyes and shakes his head.   
  
"What about finding an abandoned building, then, Miroku?" Sango asks.  
  
"The problem with abandoned buildings is that if your sleeping in them, you're too poor to sleep elsewhere. So, thieves and other criminals will attack you, or if some samurai finds you and want some fun." Miroku pauses, "They'll assume anybody sleeping in ruins are lowly scum and attack."  
  
"So, all we have to do is act like we do in the wild. You weaklings can sleep and I'll watch." Inu-yasha says, "We'll sleep in abandoned buildings, then."  
  
End flashback . . .   
  
"I do wish that the boys were here." Kagome says.   
  
"Yes, we'll just have to be careful." Sango looks around. "Now where would an inn be . . . "  
  
"We are close to the northern edge of the city, I'd say, if we go north, we'll find one, Sango. Since most of the travelers, will be at the edges of the city."  
  
"Let's go, then."  
  
As they go north, they look around for an inn. Before they found the compound, Sango had been paying attention to Kagome and Kagome had been paying attention to her mystic senses, so they are, just now, noticing details that they missed earlier.  
  
There are parades of richly dressed men, with guards, going about their business on the streets. Everyone, of course, moves out of his way, and he, of course, ignores the lowly people that have the good fortune to see him.  
  
Lining the streets are shops full of drapers, clothes makers, druggists (A man out front of one is yelling "Men! If you need help with your companion!" he waves a small bamboo vial "This will keep you up all night, up to seven times a night!" this attracts their attention. "Miroku's friend, I assume." Kagome nudges Sango and giggles. "Yes" Sango giggles.), scroll and booksellers, fast food shops and more.  
  
Most street corners have some sort of entertainer occupying it. A storyteller, sometimes with puppets to act out the story is on one corner. A juggler, musician and/or chanter, a man yelling about Sumo contest, which will be held at a local temple the next day could be on another corner. An old woman doing horoscopes for people walking by is on yet another corner.   
  
Kagome nudges Sango and whispers, "Do you know why that man over there has a piece of paper marked 'taboo' on his forehead?" She subtly points to a man wearing a dark fancy kimono, but attached to the small hat he's wearing is a white strip of paper with the word 'taboo' written on it. People move away from him and avoid looking at him directly.  
  
"He must be under some sort of taboo. Probably a death in the family, judging by his kimono. I'd say he's got some sort of important business he has to do, so he put that on his forehead to tell everyone that he's still taboo to be with. He doesn't want the contamination from the death in his family to spread to other family's. It's just good manners, Kagome." Sango whispers back.  
  
"Hmmm . . . ok."  
  
Off in the distance they hear a young boy's voice cry, "Oji Inn! Great place! Cheap sake!"  
  
Kagome looks a little startled. Sango whispers, "How else can he attract people, Kagome. He'll hire young boys to wander the streets and cry out the inn's name to drum up business." She glances at the sky, "it's getting dark, so this when most of them will be out. I was sure we'd hear one."  
  
"How much does he pay them?"  
  
"The boys?" Kagome nods, "food, perhaps a couple of copper pieces, maybe something more. Depends on how many people the boy brings into the inn."   
  
They follow the sound of the boy's voice. The boy is standing on a crate by the side of the street as he calls out. As the girls approach the boy, they can see a family of five talking to the boy. Judging by the head nodding and pointing the boy is telling them were to go. The girls, glance at each other, and follow the family. As they pass the young boy, Kagome tosses him a couple of coins.   
  
Near the corner of Omiya and Ogimachi, the family enters a building. On the outside is a banner marked Oji Inn. They pause outside, look at each. "We have to go in sometime." Sango whispers and goes into the inn, Kagome follows her. Both are wishing that the boys were with them. The plan had been to follow Miroku's lead, but . . .   
  
The main room of the inn is a large room. There are a half-dozen, perhaps more, low tables with cushions around them scattered in the room. Off to the right side of the room is the large cooking area. On the left side of the room, and on the back side of the room are doorways into other parts of the inn. A couple of the tables are full of people sitting down. The family that just entered the building is finishing talking to a large older, late forties, man.   
  
He glances at the girls, but seeing no men with them, ignores them. After a couple of minutes one of the girls that are waiting on the tables, come over to the girls and starts to talk to them. "Can I help?"  
  
"We're looking for a room for the night." Sango replies.  
  
The young woman looks to be in her early twenties. She has on a silk kimono that looks a bit worn. Her face has been dusted with a white power. She looks around and asks, "no men?" As she speaks, the girls can see that her teeth have been painted black, somehow.  
  
"They got separated earlier, but they are supposed to be here." Kagome quickly says, continuing with the story from earlier.  
  
"Hmmmm, well, do you know how soon?"  
  
Sango and Kagome shake their heads. The hostess thins her lips and says, "It's best if you just get food now and when your men arrive, they can get the room."  
  
Sango licks her lips, "Ahh, If they don't arrive?"  
  
"I can handle the room."  
  
Kagome looks around, and she says, "Go ahead and give us the price for food and a room. Just in case." The hostess's eyebrow rises. (Which causes Kagome to notice that the hostess's real eyebrows are shaved off, and she's painted fake eyebrows above where they should be.)  
  
"Very well . . . "  
  
Sango and the hostess negotiate the cost. It's a quick discussion. As she goes to the owner with the money, the hostess thinks, 'Something's up. They look and try to act like peasant girls, but . . . No men, if they were really waiting, they would have delayed in asking for a room. And that girls bargaining skills. For a peasant girl that was bad, she could have gotten the room for less.'   
  
The hostess comes back, tells them which room is theirs and directs them to one of the tables. The girls take off their backpacks and lay them beside them. "Everything is fine. But when your men arrive. They'll have to make a new deal with the owner." She pauses, "I'll have bowls of food and tea ready in short while."   
  
As night falls, the inn fills up, which causes more delays in Kagome's and Sango's food and drink to arrive. They are obviously last on the hostess's list of customers. Kagome does, on occasion, give the hostess pointed looks, but is ignored.  
  
Most of the customers of the inn, judging by the conversions Sango and Kagome overhear, are local men. The inn has cheap sake and it is a place for them to gather and talk and entertain themselves. There are some new comers, like the girls, but most of them tend to go to their rooms quickly. Traveling can be arduous and getting rest afterward is important.  
  
Before their food arrives, some of the men have already finished eating. The men, after eating, start to drink sake and swap stories, mainly dirty stories. Some of the men move a couple of the tables around and start throwing dice and gambling. An old lady comes in and starts to cast horoscopes for the men inside the inn.   
  
The few women and children in the inn go to their rooms after they finish eating. (Most of the women take the food uneaten to their room. They'll eat it away from the men. It's not customary to eat with men.)   
  
Finally the girl's food arrives.  
  
Kagome sips her tea and purses her lips. "I wish I could get into my pack and get some sugar. This is terrible."  
  
"Look around, Kagome, these are peasants, lowly craftsmen, other poor folk. Fancy food and drink, aren't going to be here." Sango sips, "Though, you're right. This tastes like the bastard peed in it."  
  
"Sigh, and complaining . . . "  
  
"Would get us thrown out and he'd keep the money."  
  
Kagome and Sango sighs, and start to eat and drink, cautiously. The bowl of gruel is a mix of barley, oats and beans, with just enough brown rice on top to look nice. About halfway through Sango puts down her bowl and stares at it. 'IF I don't finish the bowl that hostess will want to know why.'   
  
She glances at the hostess, who looks away from Sango once she notices Sango's attention. 'And that not the first time, I've noticed her looking at me. Think training Sango. Father told you that there would be times when I'd have to eat things I disliked.' She thinks.   
  
Sango stares the insect leg in her bowl and then deliberately eats it. "Kagome, do yourself a great favor and don't look at the food and just swallow it." She whispers.   
  
Kagome pales, "Ok, Sango. Umm . . . Do I want to know why?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Ok" Kagome quickly shovels the rest of the bowl into her mouth. Sango does the same.  
  
"Do we go to our room?" Kagome whispers as they finish. Some of the looks and comments she's overhearing are making her nervous.   
  
"No. We want to hear the gossip, remember?"  
  
"Yes." Kagome looks over the room nervously.   
  
"Nervous, Kagome?"  
  
"Yes, you?"  
  
"Yes, I really wish the boys were here. Even the monk." Sango whispers. Normally the only women in this room are the hostesses and the men in the inn don't know how to react to the two girls. Most of the men are ignoring them, but a few of the men are giving them dirty looks.  
  
It is night outside now. The room is lit only by oil lamps and candles. A couple of paper lanterns, near the entrances to the room, give the entrances a touch of class, but not much. To Kagome's modern eyes, the dim light makes a tremendous amount of shadows in the room. The shadows conceal the features of the men and hostess's as they move about. She can hear some of the men telling stories. Some of the stories are horror stories about various demons.   
  
She shivers, 'the way the shadows move as people pass in front of the lamps, combined with those stories. That makes the stories come alive and . . . ' she shivers again. 'I've wondered on occasion why people would believe some of those old legends. But, now, hearing them in this spooky setting, the right question is how could they not believe in them.'  
  
More men enter the inn. They go over the table where Kagome and Sango have been eating. "Move it. This is our table." They order. The way they are talking and acting, tells the girls that they are already drunk. Kagome and Sango stand up with their bags. Sango grabs Kagome's sleeve and they sit down, next the wall, near the dice and gambling are going on.   
  
Sango whispers, "hopefully they'll say something more interesting than old stories."   
  
As the girls listen, they do hear rumors about the shard and other things of interest. But, the only piece of information about the Yuki family they hear is a dirty story about how a geisha has got the heir of the family wrapped around her little finger. (That's not the exact term they used, that term was related to a different body part . . . )  
  
Three more men enter the inn. These men are not the common laborers and peasants that have been filling the inn. These men have long swords and fancy kimonos on. "Sake! Innkeeper!" they order.   
  
The owner bows and scrapes in front of the samurai, instead of being bossy and demanding he's been all evening. The noise level in the inn temporarily deadens. When the noise level increases, it has a different tone. There is a nasty undertone to the conversions now.  
  
"Won't they get into trouble for being in a low class place like this?" Kagome whispers as she asks Sango.  
  
"Only if their superior finds out about it. But he's going to ignore any complaints from simple peasants, or the innkeeper. Only if another samurai mentions it to their superior will they get into trouble." Sango whispers as she replies. "And, Kagome, they can do anything they want."  
  
They sit down by a table, after the men that were sitting there quickly bow and leave. "Girl! Come here!" The hostess, the one that has been watching Sango and Kagome, goes to the men. She bows. "Sit down! I need some companionship." The largest of the three says as he pats the matt next to him. He looks at the owner as says, "Put her on my tab." The hostess sighs in resignation.  
  
The other hostesses quickly make sure that they are being very busy helping other people. Some of the other men in the inn, also, quickly start asking for help.  
  
The hostess thinks, 'I hate him. Always coming in and trying to act like an important samurai. Especially when all he and his friends are just barely samurai. But, he has to have someone to bully, I suppose.'   
  
Her glance falls on Sango and Kagome sitting next to the wall. She glances around the room again. 'Yes, as I thought. All the other women have gone to their rooms, and it's just the men.' She looks at the other two samurai.   
  
'I wonder, the way those two girls have acted . . . especially that other girl. Some of the looks she gave me as I was properly serving men before them, she was angry about that for some reason. I don't think they are what they appear to be . . . perhaps, they will be odd enough, that I can distract him. I really don't feel like being his bed partner tonight' she thinks.  
  
She whispers, "your friends look lonely, sir. There are two other girls in the room." She subtly points to Kagome and Sango.   
  
The three samurai looks at Sango and Kagome. Even in the dim light, a gleam appears in their eyes. "Get them." The hostess gets up and goes to the two girls.  
  
The hostess bows to the girls saying, "The lord samurai Kuranosuke would like to speak with you." Sango grimaces.   
  
"And if we don't want to speak with them?" Kagome softly asks.   
  
The hostesses' eyes widen. "How could you even think that?!" she softly exclaims.   
  
Sango gets up and whispers to Kagome, "just follow my lead." Kagome gets up and nods. They bring their bags with them.  
  
"Sit" the girls are ordered.  
  
Sango and Kagome sit down next to each other and opposite the samurai. One of them smiles, as he orders, "Come closer, girls, we're not going to hurt you." This close the girls can tell that the three men are already drunk.  
  
The two girls minutely shrug and move slightly closer to the samurai. "Sit! Here!" the third orders Sango as he points to the spot right next to him. He reaches out and grabs her arm.   
  
Sango stares at his face, "I'm not that type of girl, sir." She grits out. 'I don't even let the monk touch me. I'm not going to let some drunk samurai do it.' She thinks. She twists her arm out of the grasp of the samurai.  
  
'Women are not supposed to do that.' The shocked thought goes through the mind of the hostess, who is watching this with great interest.  
  
"You are tonight, peasant girl." The samurai orders as he stares back at Sango. He minutely shakes his head, there is something in Sango's gaze that disturbs him.  
  
"Please, sirs, we're just saying here for the night. Please, leave us alone." Kagome asks in a low voice.  
  
"No"  
  
'There is something about these two, but . . . I cannot change my mind in front of the scum in this room. I'm not going to be embarrassed like that.' The samurai named Kuranosuke thinks.  
  
Kuranosuke says. "You two will come with us, to our rooms, now!" He stands up, reaches down to grab Kagome's arm.  
  
He doesn't succeed. Sango has also stood up and has grabbed his wrist. She stares him in the eyes and whispers, "It was a misunderstanding. If you ignore it, nothing bad will happen."  
  
'I'm not going to be ordered about by a peasant girl.' He angrily thinks. The samurai swings his arm using his open palm to strike at Sango.  
  
End chapter 5.  
  
Now that the girls are in the city, let's get some action going . . .   
  
Oh, yes, I know Sango and Kagome could have handled it better, but, they're young and in a strange situation. Mistakes happen . . . (they'll realize it, but it'll be too late . . . )  
  
Also, there are some similarities between this chapter and my story "what to do about evil" Unfortunately, Samurai expect and demand that peasants obey them. End of story. If you disobey them, samurai tends to act in the same way, with violence. That is how they were trained and what was expected of them.  
  
The inn and the descriptions I used are basically of a fancier teahouse with rooms attached. Compared to a real teahouse, this is very poor quality. A true teahouse would have separate rooms for each group of men, not one big room.   
  
I wanted to put this in the story, but haven't found a way . . . so . . . the clothes the ordinary people are wearing is made of cotton or hemp-based clothes. Not silk. (Some of the very poor will have paper clothes, Ok) So, the worn silk and the make-up on the hostess is a way to make the inn look better. To a person that has been in a fancy teahouse the attempt is laughable, but to the poor people in the inn, it's a way to pretend that they're in a fancy place. Cotton wasn't introduced in a large scale in Japan until late fourteenth or early fifteenth centuries. (1350 to 1450) and growing it wasn't easy in Japan, ok. (Moreover no cotton gin. The wives of the farmers that grew the cotton would have to pick the seeds out of the cotton by hand.)  
  
The gruel . . . some insects, properly prepared and served correctly are delicacies. But that does not apply to a cockroach in your gruel . . .   
  
As a reminder I am using various place names and such from Kyoto. I may, and probably will, make a mistake in using, say a Buddhist temple as a Shinto Shrine. But as long as I stay consistent within this story that is all I'm after.  
  
An interesting link. The diary of a noble woman. It's well before the time of this story. 1009-1059, not 1550. But, Kyoto always tried to carry on with the traditions of the past. The nobles of Kyoto tried never to change, so what is in this diary is what the nobles of Kyoto would like life to be like.  
  
remove the spaces for the link.

history. hanover. edu/ tests/ diaries/ diaryall.htm  
  
Also for those interested . . .   
  
The books I'm using . . . Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan by Lafcadio Hearn. Everyday life in Traditional Japan by Charles Dunn. Everyday things in pre modern japan by Susan Hanley. (Most of these are more concerned with 1600-1850, but life in Japan tended to be stays the same, so...)  
  
The world of the shining Prince by ivan morris (court life in ancient japan. About Japanese culture in 1000ad) This is the culture that Kyoto always tried to follow.   
  
thank you for reading.  
  
Jeff shelton


	6. chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Authors' note: In the interest of saving some dialog. I'm going to reduce the amount of customary polite phrases in the dialog. "Thank you, honorable sir. Pardon me, sir, etc." Sango and Kagome are normally polite girls and those phases are part of their normal speech pattern and as such, are included automatically. (Now, Inu-yasha on the other hand . . . ) I'm just ignoring them, in the interest of keeping the dialog as minimal as possible.  
  
"Please, sirs, we're just saying here for the night. Please, leave us alone." Kagome asks in a low voice.  
  
"No"  
  
'I cannot change my mind in front of the scum in this room. I'm not going to be embarrassed like that.' He thinks.  
  
The first samurai says. "You two will come with us, to our rooms, now!" He stands up, reaches out to grab Kagome's arm.  
  
He doesn't succeed. Sango has also stood up and has grabbed his wrist.   
  
She stares at him in the eyes and whispers, "It was a misunderstanding. If you ignore it, nothing bad will happen."  
  
'I'm not going to be ordered about by a peasant girl.' He angrily thinks. The samurai swings his arm using his open palm to strike at Sango.  
  
Sango catches the open hand with her left hand. Her right hand, so fast it's unnoticeable in the dim light, strikes. He collapses onto the table, breaking it in the process. He is unconscious. Kagome and the other two samurai stand up.  
  
Sango pushes Kagome back and slightly bows to the two remaining samurai. In a low voice she says, "Please, sirs, you are dealing with something beyond you. Let us go."  
  
The hostess takes this chance to move away. "What happened?" "I don't know." The other men in the inn stage whisper to each other.  
  
The two samurai look at each. 'We will not back down, in public, to a woman.' They both think in unison.   
  
"Women. You two will carry him into his room. When he wakes up, you two will apologize to him. And then we will kill you." One of them says.   
  
"No" is all Sango says.  
  
Both samurai begin to attack, but before their swords can clear their scabbards, they are both unconscious. Sango's attack, again, in the dim light is too fast to be seen.  
  
The room is totally silent.   
  
Sango grinds her jaw. 'Damn it. I let them get to me. I should have let them get us into a private room and then taken them out.' She thinks.  
  
Kagome bows to the owner and says, "we will be going to our room, now. Sir." She tugs on Sango's sleeve. The two girls pick up their bags and go thru the entrance in the back of the main room.   
  
Once the girls leave the room, people start to talk. "Ninjas?" "Witches?" "Demons?" the rumors begin . . .   
  
The innkeeper goes over to the three unconscious samurai. 'If I bring them to their master, I could get in trouble. This happened in my house. So . . . '  
  
"Take them to a room. Let them sleep, whatever it is, off." He orders. A couple of men grab the samurai and start dragging them off.  
  
'Hopefully they'll be so mad at those witches that they'll forget about me. But, on the other hand, I think, I need to spend a couple of days with my brother on the other side of Kyoto. I'm going to take the money box, tonight, and vanish.' He nods his head in agreement with himself.   
  
In the room . . .   
  
Kagome closes the sliding door behind her. They drop their bags on the floor. The room is a small room, basically big enough for the two girls to stretch out and sleep, but not much bigger. An oil lamp is the only light source.   
  
Sango deeply bows to Kagome. "I am sorry, Kagome. I made a mistake in there."  
  
Kagome reaches down and lifts Sango up by her chin. "Sango. Mistakes happen. If you hadn't done something, I was going to hit them myself." She grins. "My attack, they would have blocked, though."  
  
"You're not upset."  
  
Kagome sighs, "Some. But, not at you, more at myself, really, we made a mistake staying in the room with the men. We should have gone in the back and started to talk to the women back here. You saw how they looked at us as we passed them on the way here."  
  
"Yes. The women knew what was going on." Sango slumps. "Spying isn't what I was trained for."  
  
"I know, Miroku is the one that needs to be here. He could have had that room telling him everything. But . . . "  
  
"Now, they think we're . . . " Sango begins.   
  
"We're not invisible anymore. At least not here." Kagome says, "Tomorrow we'll have to find somewhere else to rest."  
  
"Luckily we weren't too close to the compound, Kagome, so we can probably still go there without too much of a problem."  
  
"Hmm, Sango, a thought, there'll be women coming in and out of the compound, probably."  
  
"Yes, getting food, water, other things."  
  
"Tomorrow, I think we need to talk to them. We'll probably learn more that way then trying to approach the men." Kagome speculates.  
  
"Good idea, Kagome. We'll do that."  
  
"Do you still want to try to sneak over the wall, tonight?"   
  
Sango pauses, "I don't think so, Kagome. I'd expect some sort of response from what I just did. So, leaving you alone." She shakes her head, "just feels wrong."   
  
Kagome nods. "No problem. Kirara?"  
  
Sango licks her lips, "I, I don't know." She slumps down, "After making that mistake . . . "  
  
Kagome goes over and hugs Sango. "Trust yourself, Sango. I trust you." She whispers.  
  
"Kirara?" Sango looks at the two-tailed cat.  
  
Kirara shakes his head no. "Why, the anti-demon spells?" Kagome asks. Kirara nods.   
  
"That bad?" Sango asks. Kirara shrugs. The two girls look at each. "We've got to figure out a way to talk to Kirara." Sango declares. Kagome nods her head yes.  
  
"Ah, let's get ready to go to bed, now, Kagome." Sango starts, "I think we'll have to treat it as if we could be attacked at any time."  
  
Kagome grimaces and nods yes.  
  
"It'll probably take a while for those samurai to wake up, and then, they'll hopefully get some help. So. I think that I need to rest first. Then, say after midnight, you wake me up and you can get some sleep then. Kirara can stay up with you, as well." Sango somewhat hesitantly plans.  
  
"That's good, Sango. We've been traveling so much, I haven't had a chance to study and I could use a few hours to try to catch up. In addition, if the food and samurai are going to be that offensive here, I need to repack my bag and move some things around."  
  
Sango's eyebrow's rise in an unspoken question.  
  
"I want to put some of my modern condiments, like sugar, in a pouch where I can get to them." She pauses, "And in my bag, I've got a can of mace." She shakes her head, "My mother got it for me soon after I started coming here, but I've never used it. Now, I think that I will need it."  
  
"Mace?"  
  
"Something women use in the future to stop men, like those samurai." Kagome replies. She bends down to Kirara. "Now, Kirara, if I use it, and I'll show you the can, so you'll know what it looks like, don't get close to me. It's smells awful and your nose." She touches the end of Kirara's nose.  
  
"Is that why you've never used it?"  
  
"Huh, yes, I'm sure Inu-yasha would hate it."   
  
The girls, after almost bumping into each other serval times, finally settle down. Sango, on top of her futon, with her hand on her sword hilt, sleeps fitfully. She twitches at many of the random noises, which happen throughout the night.   
  
Kagome, as she repacks her bag thinks, 'hmm, I'm add a couple of other modern things as well.' She thinks. She places various objects in pouches. She sits next to the lamp. She pulls out a book and starts to read it.  
  
After a few minutes she takes off her watch and starts to use it as the place holder in the book. She glances at it each time she turns a page.  
  
As she reads the book, she realizes, just how thin the walls are. The rice paper wall allows any sound to pass through it. She glances at one wall and blushes deeply when she, finally, determines what the rhythmic noises and moans she's hearing mean. Her concentration destroyed she tries to read her book, but she keeps glancing over at the wall, until after a while the noises end and the couple, it sounded like the farmer and his wife they followed to the inn, goes to sleep.  
  
'If I could hear that . . . does that mean that other people could hear Sango and I?' She thinks. She swallows and rethinks her and Sango's conversation. She doesn't remember saying anything that she regrets, but. 'I've got to remember that Sango and I aren't in the middle of some woods far away from other people. Unless I'm some place weird there will be people that hear everything I say.' She thinks. She nods, and hoping with the distracting noise gone her concentration will return, and she tries to read the book again.   
  
Kagome, after a few minutes reading, stops and begins to rub her eyes. A headache is being to form. 'Next time I'm home. I've got to remember to see an eye doctor.' She glares at the oil lamp. 'All the times I've had to read by firelight, or lamp light, has got to be hurting my eyes.'  
  
She blinks a couple of times, she's being to feel sleepy and she glances at Sango. Kagome's brow furrows. Sango is sleeping deeply. 'Expect for Inu-yasha, nobody sleeps as lightly as Sango. Still, it has been a long week of travel. She needs her sleep. I'll just wait until one or so before waking her.'  
  
She starts to read again, but the sleepy feeling increases. As she begins to nod off to sleep . . .   
  
"Ouch!" She cries out. Kirara has sunk claws into her thigh.   
  
"Hiss . . . " the hair on Kirara's back rises. A sound from outside the room draws Kagome's attention to one of the walls. She can see a shadowy figure move away from the room. She swallows, and concentrates on her mystic scenes.   
  
There is a feeling of a spell around her. "A sleep spell, Kirara?" she asks. Kirara nods. She looks around and listens, even with her crying 'ouch' everybody, including, Sango is still asleep. "Damn . . . " She mumbles.   
  
Kagome goes over and shakes Sango awake. Unlike ever other time, Sango is difficult to wake up this time.   
  
"Kagome, wh, huh . . . " She mumbles.  
  
"Sleep spell, Sango." Kagome says gently. "Kirara woke me up."   
  
"Damn. This soon . . . " Sango grimaces. "I think I'd better stay awake."  
  
"Sango, I think we'd better be gone by dawn." Kagome whispers.   
  
Sango nods. "Get some sleep, Kagome. I'll wake you up an hour or so before dawn."  
  
"Here's my watch, Sango." Kagome says as she hands the watch to her. "I'll try to sleep." She giggles. 'And just a few minutes ago, I didn't want to sleep, how things change.'  
  
She looks at Kirara. "Thank you for waking me up, Kirara." She bows to Kirara. Kirara purrs.  
  
Sango starts to sharpen her katana. 'I'll be needing this . . . soon . . . ' she thinks.   
  
A small campfire in the hills on the west side of the city outside Kyoto. It's early in the night..  
  
"What do you think the girls are doing?" Shippo asks.  
  
"They are probably still in a bathhouse, kit." Inu-yasha sneers.  
  
"I don't think they're that interested in bathing, Inu-yasha." Miroku says.   
  
"Feh, you're wrong."  
  
"I meant the question, guys." Shippo says.  
  
"Hmmm. It depends on too many things Shippo. With luck, they've already found the shard and will find us tomorrow. Without luck . . . well, Sango will make sure Kagome can get away. That I can promise." Miroku says. He shivers as he finishes.  
  
"Huh. No way the girls are that lucky. I'm sure Kagome has dragged Sango to various shrines and temples, sightseeing. She said that's what she wanted to do." Inu-yasha says in a dismissive tone.   
  
"That was before she found about the shard, Inu-yasha. She's much more serious about this then you think." Miroku reminds Inu-yasha.   
  
After a pause Miroku says, "Still, this isn't something we can do anything about. We've had a long hard trip here. Let's get some rest and see what tomorrow brings."   
  
The boys, after more grumbling from Inu-yasha, go to sleep. Or rather, Shippo and Miroku sleep together, Inu-yasha stays semi-awake, like he always does when he's asleep. The slightest noise will wake him up.   
  
Later . . . the campfire has gone out and it deep into the night.  
  
Inu-yasha quietly moves and wakes up Miroku and Shippo. "Quiet, you two. There's a group of men approaching. I can hear them." He whispers. Both of them get up and prepare.  
  
Miroku starts to grab his staff, but stops himself. Until the men attack, they need to be quiet, and his staff is not quiet. 'Hand to hand, then. Sigh.' He thinks to himself.  
  
"Inu-yasha, it would be helpful if we could find out why this . . . " Miroku whispers.   
  
"I know that, monk. Bet you it was your friends at that monastery." Inu-yasha whispers back.  
  
"Hmm, perhaps, but what shall we bet, Inu-yasha?" Miroku whispers. The approaching men are close enough that he can hear them now.   
  
"Shippo, can you do your foxfire?" Miroku whispers.  
  
"Yes, I think so. My powers aren't stopped. They just hurt to use." Shippo whispers back.  
  
"Good. When the fight begins, make a bright light. It'll confuse them and help us." Miroku whispers.   
  
Inu-yasha nods, then shakes his head no. "No. Do it when I order, Shippo, We'll attack them. That will confuse them more."  
  
Shippo glances over at Miroku, who subtly nods his head yes.  
  
Inu-yasha motions the monk to move away from him and spread out. Miroku does so . . .   
  
"Now!" Inu-yasha shouts as he draws his sword. Miroku closes his eyes for a second, so he's not blinded by the light.  
  
Miroku opens his eyes, he can see about twenty or so men scattered around them. He yells, "Demons!" and he attacks the nearest man. The men were confused by the light, and the cry just causes more confusion.  
  
Miroku is using open hand attacks and while he is good it, the man he attacked had a staff and Miroku takes the staff when he knocks the man unconscious. The rest of Miroku's attacks are with the new staff.   
  
Inu-yasha attacks the nearest man with his sword. 'Shit. I forgot. Men, not demons.' His sword does not change and it remains a rusty old blade.  
  
"Attack them!" one of the men yells. He is one of men the furthest away from the boys.  
  
Inu-yasha grins and yells, while he still fighting a group of men, "Shippo! Make sure that bastard stays put!"  
  
Shippo transforms into his giant head shape and moves toward the man in the back.   
  
Although the guards outnumber the boys, the surprise attack, and the obvious spells have unnerved the guards, so the guards hesitant, yell at each trying to reorganize. But the Inu-yasha's and Miroku's attacks prevent them from using their superior numbers.  
  
However, the boys are still fighting ten to one odds and they do take a couple of small hits. But, after only a couple of minutes all the guards are down.   
  
"Shippo! Did you get that bastard!" Inu-yasha yells.  
  
"Yeah!" Shippo yells. He then coughs heavily a couple of times. Using his powers has hurt him.   
  
"Get that fire going, Miroku. I'll drag the bastard to it, and we'll talk." Inu-yasha grins nastily as he moves to the man Shippo caught in one of his spells.  
  
The man, who is the assistant priest from earlier, is trying to fight the spell. He does break it before Inu-yasha arrives, but Inu-yasha quickly catches him. "I've got you!" Inu-yasha grins into his face.  
  
The priest, who was prepared for a dog demon, not a kitsune, pulls out a scroll and attaches it to Inu-yasha's chest. "Arrgghhhh!!" Inu-yasha yells in pain and throws the priest away from him as he tries to rip the scroll off him.  
  
"Stop! Priest!" Miroku yells and chases after the priest. Miroku is in better shape then the other man and catches him after a short run. He tackles the man and knocks him out. Miroku drags the man to Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha has managed to take the scroll off, by the time Miroku arrives.  
  
"Are you ok? Inu-yasha." Miroku asks.  
  
"Are you fucking blind!?" Inu-yasha yells. Inu-yasha has a couple of small cuts, which are rapidly healing. There is a scorch mark on his chest that is also fading.  
  
"No, Inu-yasha, but I do need to know if you need help?"  
  
Inu-yasha breathes deeply a couple of times. "Yeah. It hurt, but, I can live with it. The pain is fading and I'm healing." he thinks, 'but, staying upright and talking is taking more from me than it should, I fucking hate this city.'   
  
"Do we question him now?" Shippo asks.  
  
"Yeah, wake him up, monk."   
  
"Let's tie him up first, then do it, Inu-yasha. Also tie up the men that are still alive" Miroku says as he waves his arms at the dead, mainly Inu-yasha's opponents, and the unconscious, mainly Miroku's opponents. "Use their clothes to tie them up."  
  
"We need to get some knowledge. They will be more likely to tell us, than the priest. We can then use that knowledge against the priest." Miroku tells Inu-yasha and Shippo, as they discuss who to wake up first.  
  
They wake up one of the guards. "Sirs. You beat us. As far as I'm concerned, you are my new master. So I'll tell you anything you want." He says. 'Hopefully, they'll like this and let me live. If I displease them, I'm dead. The only way to live is to kiss their ass.' He thinks.  
  
After questioning a couple of guards they wake up the priest. "I'm not going to tell a bastard half dog demon anything." He spits in Inu-yasha's face. Miroku holds back Inu-yasha with his staff.   
  
Shippo, with an illusion so he looks like his father, an adult kitsune, asks the priest, "What about me. Human scum." The fangs in his mouth grow longer as he smiles.   
  
'A Kitsune . . . I . . . ' Shippo and Inu-yasha can smell the priest piss himself.   
  
"Now, talk, human and I will be merciful. Refuse to talk and your soul will be mine for all eternity." Shippo growls. His illusionary claws pass through the priest's chest. "Once you are dead, I will take your soul." He grins frightfully.  
  
"I... I'll talk. Please, monk! I beg of you, please save me from the kitsune!" the priest begs Miroku.   
  
"Good. Tell us everything." Miroku purrs.   
  
After getting the information, they tie him up and move off to one side to talk among themselves.  
  
"Ise." Miroku leans back and looks at Inu-yasha.  
  
"Yeah, I felt something as he passed us, monk. We should have attacked him then." Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Attack the High Priest of Ise, in full daylight, while he is traveling with his full guard compliment?" Miroku raises an eyebrow at that bit of wisdom from Inu-yasha.  
  
"Well, now what guys?" Shippo asks.  
  
"Kill them." Inu-yasha says in a flat voice.  
  
"No. Killing them will not solve anything, Inu-yasha. We, or at least you, are already known, that knowledge will spread no matter what we do."  
  
Shippo says, "AH, but they didn't know about me? How important is keeping that knowledge secret?"   
  
Miroku pauses. "Look at it this way, Shippo. If they have a half-dozen different versions of this fight, how many kitsunes do you think they'll say we had. Only one kitsune cub, or say three or four adult kitsunes?"  
  
"AH, confusion." Inu-yasha mumbles. Shippo nods.  
  
"We are going into the city, monk." Inu-yasha orders. Miroku raises his eyebrow in question.  
  
"Fuck, they already know we're here. We are targets. Wandering these hills makes us easy targets. Inside the city, we'll be harder to locate." Inu-yasha explains.  
  
"Sigh. You may by wrong there, Inu-yasha. Inside the city there will be a lot of eyes on us. But, staying outside the city isn't working, so... . We'll go into the city and see if we can locate the girls."  
  
"What about me?" Shippo asks.  
  
"Well, If it gets to bad, Shippo, I'll see if we can find a shrine to the fox god and hopefully we can do something there." Miroku says. Shippo, grimaces, but nods his head.   
  
"We'll leave as soon as we pack up. I want us away from here by dawn." Inu-yasha orders and the other two nod their heads in agreement.  
  
Inu-yasha goes over the tied up priest and lifts him up off the ground with just one hand. He shakes him and uses his other clawed hand to randomly cut the priest's chest and face. "I would kill you and eat you, bastard. But. That would be quick and basically painless."   
  
He grins showing his fangs. "So, I'm going to let you live. You'll have to explain your failure. Your boss will punish you."   
  
He licks his lips. "He'll have the time and resources to make your death long and painful."  
  
Inu-yasha knocks the priest unconscious and the boys leave the area.  
  
In the street, before dawn, outside the inn . . .   
  
Kagome shivers as she and Sango walk cautiously down the dark and shadowy streets. There is enough light from the partial moon and the beginning of dawn for them to see, at least if they move slowly. They are walking away from the inn and they are not walking in the direction of the Yuki family compound. If someone is following them, they're not going to lead them too anyplace important.  
  
"Something wrong, Kagome?" Sango asks.  
  
Kagome grimaces, "nothing we can do about it, Sango. There are a lot of ghosts and spirits around, and I'm just feeling them."  
  
"Hmmm . . . That's not to surprising, Kagome, Kyoto has been the biggest city in Japan for hundreds of years. There should be more ghosts in this city then anywhere else in Japan."  
  
"When you say it that, it sounds so simple. But . . . I can feel those ghosts and spirits." She stops speaking.  
  
"And, Kagome."  
  
"How to say this . . . Some of the ghosts I'm feeling. The anger, the hate . . . " She shivers. "The hate that Kikyo has for me, feels like a minor annoyance compared to some of the feelings I getting . . . "  
  
"You didn't feel it in the inn?"  
  
"No. Somewhat. I thought it was something else and ignored it. The inn, most of the buildings, has charms against ghosts around them. It's just walking these streets . . . Plus it's also probably the time of day . . . at night, you know." Kagome says as she shrugs.   
  
"Are we in danger?"  
  
"I... I don't think so, Sango. Most of what I'm feeling is directed elsewhere and at other people."   
  
After walking a few more minutes' Kagome stops next to a field. There are burned stumps in the field and it looks like that there was a house here, but it's burned down. "Kagome?"  
  
Kagome points at a spot in the field. "Do you see her, Sango?"  
  
Sango shakes her head no. "Kirara?" Kirara shrugs.  
  
"Hold my hand, Sango." Kagome reaches out and grasps Sango's hand.   
  
Sango gasps. She can now see a ghost of the young child in the field. The ghost is trying to dig into the ground, but being a ghost, it cannot dig. "What?"  
  
Sango and Kagome can hear the ghost moan and speak, "Emi. My friend. I want to find you. I need to hold you. Please someone, anyone, please help me find my friend . . . "  
  
Kagome licks her lips, "I've got to go, Sango." Kagome lets go of Sango's hand and goes into the field.   
  
Sango and Kirara try to follow her, but they are stopped by a barrier. "Kagome!" Sango hisses, but Kagome can't hear her. 'Damn it, no boomerang . . . ' Sango thinks as she pulls her sword. She'll try to break the barrier with it. It bounces off . . .   
  
Sango sees Kagome walk to where the ghost was trying to dig. Kagome bends down and starts to dig into the ground.   
  
Beyond Kagome, Sango can see a distortion, like a hole is being made in the fabric of the universe. She tries to look into the hole, but she has to turn away. Her eyes hurt, her head hurts, she was trying to see things humans weren't meant to know . . .   
  
Kirara who is looking into the hole shivers. Kirara curls around Sango's ankles in fright.   
  
After a few minutes' Kagome pulls out of the ground a burned doll. She brushes the doll, trying to clean it up. Kagome acts like she's handing the doll to an invisible person.  
  
Kagome lets go of the doll and the doll vanishes. The distortion beyond Kagome fades away.  
  
Kagome stands, bows, and speaking to air says, "I was just doing what anybody would do. You don't owe me. I'm just glad I could help."  
  
Kagome walks to Sango, a bright smile on her lips. "A little girl who wanted her doll before she moved on."  
  
"Kagome . . . Did you know?" Sango asks.  
  
"Oh, what was going on around me?" Kagome asks. Sango nods. "Oh, somewhat. I knew that if I could find what she wanted, I'd be fine. Everything else was just to scare off people so they wouldn't bury her doll." Kagome shrugs. "I was fine, Sango. Nothing to worry about, really."  
  
Sango and Kirara look at each other. Kagome was within a body length of entering some place no living person should go and she thinks nothing about it. 'Most of the time Kagome is just a normal girl, then, she does something like this.' Sango thinks and conceals her shiver from her friend.  
  
They walk away from the field.   
  
A ghostly girl child hugging her favorite doll watches them.  
  
Just before dawn at the campfire the boys were at.  
  
A small man-sized cloud hovers over the area. The half dozen or so men still alive, wiggle and move around, trying to see what's above them.  
  
'Hmmm . . . I wonder what happened here?' the person on the cloud thinks. 'But, it's not important to my mission.' A small fan appears in the person's hand. A wave of the fan and the men on the ground are dead. 'I can use some zombies.'  
  
"Arise." The person orders. The zombies slowly, but surely, stand up, snapping the bonds that tied them up.   
  
Kagura lands, gracefully, on the ground  
  
Flashback . . .   
  
Naraku's castle . . . a few days ago . . .   
  
Naraku is sitting on the floor. "Kagura."   
  
Kagura bows from the kneeling position she was in. "Yes, sir."  
  
"Rumors of a shard have reached me. I will send you to investigate."  
  
"Yes, sir. Where, sir?"  
  
"Kyoto." He pauses, "There are few things you do need to know before you leave."  
  
He pulls out an amulet. "You will need this. It will protect you against the human anti-demon magic." He hands it to her.  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
"Find out if there is a shard there are or if there is not a shard there. Rumors of this sort could easily be mistaken. If the rumors are true. Try to get the shard."  
  
"Try, sir?"  
  
"There are strong anti-demon spells around Kyoto. If the rumors are true, I'll probably have to go there myself." Naraku sighs. "So, try. If you succeed, that is good. If you fail, your punishment might be lighter than normal."  
  
Kagura gasps and grabs her chest.  
  
"That is not an excuse for failure, Kagura. Do you understand?" he says in a cold, cold voice.   
  
The pain increases.  
  
"Yes, lord."   
  
The pain eases.   
  
"Good." Naraku pulls out a scroll. "The last time I was in Kyoto, I promised the Yamakawa family that I would destroy them."  
  
He hands her the scroll. " So, when you arrive, kill some peasants or such, animate them, give them this scroll, direct them toward the Maeda family compound and tell them to kill everyone in the compound. The directions to the compound are in the scroll. You may go."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"I did not give you permission to ask questions." Kagura moans in pain and grabs her chest. "My orders are simple. Obey them. Do you understand?"   
  
"Yes, sir." The pain eases.  
  
Kagura leaves.   
  
'Sigh . . . all the spells around Kyoto make it impossible for Kanna to use her mirror accurately. Sending Kagura is not the best solution, but she can get there and back quickly. Once she returns, I'll make up my mind then.' Naraku thinks. 'Sigh. I wish, now, that I didn't order Kanna to look at Kyoto. Once she did that, and especially after I ordered her to keep trying to look at Kyoto for a couple of days. That was a mistake. Inu-yasha moved away from his forest during that time and now Kanna can't locate him.'  
  
"Kanna. Come here. You must locate Inu-yasha." He orders.   
  
End flashback . . .   
  
"Here." She hands the scroll to one of her zombies. She points to one of the compounds. "Go there and kill all within."  
  
The zombies form up and start to march in that direction.  
  
'Stupid gesture. They'll be destroyed long before they reach the compound. But orders are orders.'  
  
"While I'm not Kikyo or that Kagome brat, I do have a lot of experience locating shards, what does it feels like around here . . . " She mumbles as she concentrates.  
  
Kagura furrows her brow in confusion. 'The rumor was only one shard in Kyoto. The way it feels . . . I'd say that there are more.'  
  
She smiles, 'Good. If there are more, then all I have to do is show Nararku one shard and the others . . . Perhaps I can do something with them.'  
  
It's dawn . . .   
  
The girls are walking toward the compound. Now that there is daylight, they can see if anybody is following them. They don't see anybody, so . . . to the Yuki family compound . . .   
  
"Sango?"  
  
"Yes, Kagome."  
  
"I think I need to do something, so you can talk to the women coming out of the compound, while I do something else."  
  
"Kagome . . . could you please explain." Sango says with expiration, finding out information about the Yuki family is the most important thing they can do.  
  
"We'll probably need some place to sleep tonight."  
  
"Yes, but there are other inns. And there are monasteries that will allow women inside. So . . . "   
  
"I was thinking about the paintings my mother gave me and the artists in the city. I thought I could use that excuse."  
  
"And get some artist to let us sleep in his house tonight."  
  
Kagome nods. Her face twitches, "eating and sleeping in comfortable surroundings, not some scummy inn or some bare walled monastery."   
  
Sango turns and looks at Kagome. Kagome is blushing. "Kagome, there is something more than what you are saying."  
  
Kagome sighs, "You know, Inu-yasha would have gotten so mad, he'd never have thought to find out why I wanted to do this. He and I would have fought, I'd say 'sit, boy' and then I'd have gone ahead and did what I wanted."  
  
"But, I asked, Kagome."  
  
Kagome looks at the ground, "A couple of reasons, Sango. I don't think we'll be in Kyoto all that long, and I do want to, at least, try to do what my mother asked."   
  
Sango nods. "You said a couple of reasons."  
  
"Sigh . . . " Kagome slumps. "When. No. Soon after I started going through the well, I started to read, well no, pay closer attention, to the history of this time. And . . . There's been an artist that . . . " she blushes and bites her lips, "that I really want to meet." She finishes in a rush.  
  
She grins, "And he's one of my mother's favorites, too. So, even if I don't do anything else. Just meeting him and showing him my mother's paintings, would make my mother very happy."  
  
Kagome bows to Sango. "Please, Sango. I promise, after this, I won't do something like this again. Please."   
  
Sango grits her teeth. 'This is not what we came to do. But, after that ghost . . . I suppose.' She slumps and sighs. "Just this morning."  
  
Kagome starts to hug Sango, but realizes they are in public and stops herself. She bows instead. "Thank you, Sango. I'll meet you at the compound at noon, then."  
  
"Take Kirara with you." Sango says as she hands Kirara to Kagome.  
  
"Yes. Ok. Thanks." Kagome says as she leaves Sango.  
  
"Now to the compound." Sango says as she walks in that direction. As she walks that way, she sees a couple of monks posting some sort of notice. When she hears the name "Kikyo" spoken by someone reading the notice, she investigates . . .   
  
The main city streets of Kyoto are well marked, Kagome has an address, but she still has to ask a couple of people to help her locate the house.  
  
'I was lucky managed to keep that conversation in the bathhouse away from him.' Kagome pales, 'I did not want the rest of the group to know about him. I don't think they'd understand. But, nobody really expressed a lot of interest in the artists my mother wanted me to contact.' She sighs, 'now to meet him. The name has to be a coincidence.'   
  
After an hour of so, Kagome stands in front of a door. Kirara "mews" and twitches in her arms.   
  
"What?" Kagome looks around, she sees nothing that unusual . . . then she remembers that Kirara is a demon and her senses are different. She concentrates on her mystic senses. There are some unusual spells around this house. "Some sort of cat demon barrier?" Kirara nods.  
  
Kagome swallows. 'That makes sense. It's not a coincidence, then.' She thinks. She shakes her head, 'But, there is no way he'd be here, so it has to be a coincidence.'  
  
"Stay here, Kirara. If necessary, you can bring Sango here." Kagome says. Kirara's face twitches at that statement. 'This is just the house of an artist, right? So, why would Kagome think there might be danger here?' Kirara thinks.  
  
She approaches the door and knocks on the doorway.  
  
After a few seconds a whiney voice demands through the rice paper door, "What do you want?"  
  
Kagome says in a rush, "Is this the house of the artist known as Sesshu?"  
  
The end chapter 6.  
  
Sesshu is correct. You can understand why Kagome would want too met a person with a name like that . . .   
  
http:cutioner. The head, when lifted off the ground, is still alive and is he moving his mouth, at least for the couple minutes before the brain dies . . . " Will occur.  
  
If I use the more realistic style, I think I need to increase the rating to R. For graphic violence. But, I would like to keep the PG-13 rating . . . Graphic violence is normal for this time period. Japan is in a state of continuous war at this time. But.  
  
So, how graphic should I get?  
  
(To see other examples of my graphic violence stories, see, "What to do about Evil" or "Kagome's first kill")  
  
My posting plans... I need to do the author's note for Spring. But I'm still going to do at least two more chapters of Shard in October. (Basically weekly, spring notes, then ch 7 of shard the week after, then, perhaps a spring spin-off oneshot, the ch 8 of shard. These would be large chapters. I'll probably do some spamfics mixed in as well.)  
  
Thank you for reading.  
  
Jeff shelton 


	7. Sesshu

Shard ch 7  
  
I do own any of the characters in the story.   
  
Hmmm. How to say this . . . I going to introduce Kagome to an imperial noble. (He's rank 5 of 9. An important bureaucrat, with court privileges, but just barely.) There is two ways to do this. I can pull out the references and bury the story in details about exactly what clothes, the patterns on the clothes, his fan and other accessories. (This is how it would be done in a Japanese story. The clothing, how it was worn, the general body language, etc . . . all of this is because if you're born into the culture, you'll be able to read a person by the clothes.) But . . . I would spend up to 1000 words just describing his clothes. Or, give a small, very general, description, but keep the story flowing. Luckily I found a site that has good notes. So . . . I'll direct people to this site for details about the clothes, that this noble and other nobles are wearing.   
  
This is a very useful site. Explore it. You'll be surprised.

remove the spaces for the link.

sengokudaimyo.com

I know I'm losing a lot of the subtly, but shakes head, but I'm going to go for readability. Burying the flow of the story. No, I don't want to do that. (This story is already a lot larger than I thought when I started it.)  
  
I will probably be getting some of the protocol wrong. I am trying to capture the culture of the times. I am not trying to get every minor detail right. (Besides which, most of the sources for court detail were of the Heian 1000ad period or the later post 1600 period. 1550 was still a period of change for Japan and things were changing, somewhat. Admittedly, Kyoto did its best to ignore everything after 1050ad, so things probably weren't all that different then 1000ad . . . )  
  
Japanese language & Japanese terms: I will limit the number of pure Japanese terms, suffixes, etc. Why? I know that there are readers that like and enjoy them. I am sorry, but this is a personal preference. When I read a story that requires a large glossary, I just do not like it. I think putting in those terms, which disrupts the flow of the story, as the reader has to stop and refer back to the glossary to get the full meaning of the terms. Yes, I do know that this means that I'm losing a lot of the subtlety in Japanese, but I think I gain enough in readability that I'm willing to accept that loss.  
  
I will use sensei in this chapter. This is being used as a title of respect for a teacher. The noble in the chapter has to refer to the artist, but using personal names is not normal. (Even within the family, you would still refer to each other by title/occupation, not by name.) Since the artist does not have a court title or something similar, the noble has to call him something and a generic sensei works best. (In addition the artist is teaching his wife about painting, so . . . )  
  
Sesshu . . . The character in this story is NOT historical. (More detailed info at the end of the chapter)  
  
"Yes, this is the house of great artist Sesshu."   
  
The door slides open and a small dwarf man is standing in the doorway. His very wrinkled bald head gleams in the early morning light as Kagome looks down on him. "What do you want, girl?" He is using a staff as a walking stick to aid him.   
  
Kagome glances at the staff, but it's just a plain, wooden stick. "Hmmm. My . . . My parents sent me to Kyoto with some of the art that they wanted me to show around." She hesitantly says as she clutches the tube of art her mother gave her.  
  
The dwarf snorts. "Peasant. Let's see it."  
  
"I really wanted to show it to Sesshu."  
  
"The great artist Sesshu, girl." The dwarf interrupts.  
  
Kagome swallows and says, "I really wanted to show this artwork to the great artist Sesshu, myself." She bows. 'If I have to act polite. So be it.' She thinks.  
  
"I'm not going to interrupt my master, who is with an important guest, for some no account girl. Show it to me now, or leave."  
  
Kagome swallows and opens up the tube. She pulls out a rolled up landscape on silk. She unrolls it.   
  
The dwarf's eyes widen as he looks at the art. It is a beautiful landscape. It's the sea crashing into a cliff.   
  
The dwarf purses his lips and looks at the girl and then the painting. 'The master . . . This art is up to his standards, but. To interrupt him. Still . . . He's punished me before for not showing him some art. So . . . ' he thinks.  
  
The dwarf growls deep in his chest and says, "Very well. Peasant. You may come in. I will direct you to a room. You will stay in that room. In that room, you will touch nothing. You will only sit in the room." He holds out his hand. "Give me the art and I will show it to the master."  
  
Kagome hesitates. " Do it, now. Or leave."   
  
She bends down and looks the dwarf in the eye. "I will meet your master. My parents requested it and I will obey them." She hands him the art. The dwarf walks in front of her. He looks back every few steps, obviously suspicious. Kagome walks behind him, her head bowed down, like a young woman should.   
  
Her eyes, though, flick from side to side. The rice paper walls are painted in various landscapes. As she walks through the halls she can see that they must form so sort of pattern, but she's only allowed to walk down one hall and cannot see the full pattern.  
  
The dwarf slides open a door and says in a brusque manner. "Stay here." Kagome enters the room and sits down in the middle of the room. The painting on the walls is of a mountain landscape. "I know I've seen this before. But where . . . " she whispers.   
  
She shakes her head. 'I'm not going to be able to think about it. That dwarf. He reminds me of Jakken, but he's human.' She thinks. 'Or is he?' she concentrates on her mystic senses.   
  
She grimaces in pain. 'Whoever this Sesshu is, his house is covered in spells. It hurts my senses, like turning on my flashlight in the middle of dark night hurts my eyes. Maybe if I . . . ' she thinks as she tries again.  
  
"Argh." She grimaces. 'I'll just have to try harder.' She thinks, but as she tries again. Noises, voices, from the other side of the thin rice paper walls, however, reach her ears and she listens.  
  
"Sensei, My second wife has informed me that she is with child. So, unfortunately, she extends her regrets, but she'll be unable to be available for additional lessons." A man's voice says.   
  
"Master. Please forgive me. I am sorry to interrupt, but."  
  
"Kanten." A voice says. Kagome frowns, 'It's not his voice. Close, but not quite it.' She thinks.  
  
"Master. This was just introduced into the house and I felt you would like to see it." The dwarf says in a rush.  
  
A pause. "This is quite good." The voice that said Kanten says.   
  
"May I see it, Sensei?" the other voice asks.   
  
'The dwarf did say he had a guest.' Kagome thinks.  
  
Another pause. Kagome can hear light noises, but cannot make out what they are saying, or even if the noises are words.  
  
"Sensei. Could you please ask your servant to describe the person that brought you this beautiful piece of art? It is signed by a Higurashi. And I know of no person in my family that could do this." The voice of the guest says in a puzzled tone.   
  
"My family . . . did he just say my family . . . " Kagome whispers in shock. "Oh no. I didn't . . . OK . . . I did want to meet my ancestors, but not like this. I wonder who he is?" she whispers.  
  
"Kanten? Describe the man."  
  
"Sir. I am sorry, but it is not a man. It is a young woman." The dwarf says. "I've never seen her before. She's wearing a simple kimono and is alone. And I assumed."  
  
"Which is always a mistake." The voice of the sensei interrupts.  
  
"Forgive me. She said her parents sent her to show you this and meet with you, great Sesshu." The dwarf says.  
  
"Hmm. Bring her in. The art interests me and the name interests my guest."  
  
Kagome thinks, 'If this is who I think it is . . . ' she swallows. 'I'm going to have to be very cautious about what I say. Mother allowed me to read the diaries of a couple of family members alive at this time. If it's who I think it is . . . His second wife's third son, I wonder if it's this child, will in fifty or so years move to Edo and start the shrine where I grew up.' she shakes herself.  
  
Her eyes widen as she thinks, 'the diary of his wife was one I read . . . the father of the son that moved to Edo, was from a love affair with an artist. She never names the artist directly, but . . . ' She swallows and she whispers, "now I know why she was always interested in the artist Sesshu."  
  
"Be careful." She whispers to herself.  
  
The door slides open and the dwarf motions Kagome to follow him. "Do exactly what I say, woman. You will be entering the presence of my master, the great artist Sesshu, and the inspector of shrines for the department of worship." He says as they go a short distance down the hall.   
  
Kagome can see a woman enter the room she just left. The woman has some cleaning towels and brushes. 'They think I'm polluted, so their cleaning up after me . . . ' she realizes.  
  
Kanten, the dwarf, stops in front of a sliding door. He whispers, "You will, when I open this, take one step into the room. You will drop to your knees and bow into the room. You will hold that position, looking at the floor, until my master gives you permission to move closer. You will, once he's given that permission, crawl forward three steps. You will stop there. You will only raise your head when permission has been granted. Do not stare at the guest or the master." He harshly whispers. "Failure to follow these instructions is not permissible."  
  
Kagome swallows and nods her head. Kanten, opens the door and announces, "the girl is here, master."  
  
"She may enter."  
  
"Now, fool" the dwarf whispers.  
  
Kagome does as she was instructed.   
  
Before she drops to the floor, she does glance in the room. In the room is two men. Directly in front of her is a man wearing a white silk robe with a red floral design. To his left is man in a red robe.  
  
As she finishes crawling forward, her hair dangling in front of her, 'this is embarrassing. How do you crawl in this kimono? It's so long . . . ' She thinks as she reaches down to adjust her clothes.  
  
The man off to the left mutters under his breath, "peasant." Obviously she inability to crawl properly has identified her as such.  
  
Kagome swallows and thinks, 'I'll show him.' She takes a deep breath and the nervousness she was feeling fades away.  
  
"Your name." The man in front of her speaks in a flat tone.  
  
"Higurashi Kagome." Kagome keeps her face on the floor.  
  
"You are from?"  
  
"The village of Keade in the province of Musashi."  
  
"Nearest castle?"  
  
"Edo."  
  
"That's one of the Hojo's isn't it." The other man asks.  
  
"I believe a Hojo started it, but it's under new rulership now. Keeping track of the samurai in the east and all the changes they go through is difficult, however." The man in front replies.  
  
"Of course, Sensei, who's going to pay attention to something so far from the city." The man says in a dismissive tone. "I'm grateful for even the small amount of knowledge you possess."  
  
"You may look upon me, now, girl."  
  
Kagome sits up and looks at Sesshu.   
  
He is sitting, cross-legged, on a small pillow. The red floral design of his clothes is not the same as Sesshoumaru's, but it is very similar. His hair is long and flowing, but it is a flat black color. His eyes are also black. Kagome blinks a couple of times to stop herself from staring into them. His face is, again, similar to Sesshoumaru's but slightly off. It's little rougher looking, not quite the smooth feminine lines of Sesshoumaru. Neither hand is visible through the long sleeves of his robes. She starts to shift her eyes to the other man, but she sees Sesshu frown and stops herself.   
  
The wall behind him is painted in a spring scene. Cherry trees in full bloom, with a wind blowing the petals. From the quick glance she took when entered, the other walls are similarly painted.   
  
"Your father's name?" the other man asks.  
  
Kagome gives it.  
  
"That name is not familiar." He says in a harsh tone.  
  
Sesshu, musingly, says, "Did not one of your uncles get exiled to Musashi?"  
  
A pause. "Hmm. Yes, you are correct. I never heard of him marrying anybody there. But, then, again, there is no one in Musashi that is of sufficient rank and breeding for him to marry."  
  
"Look at me." The other man orders Kagome.  
  
Kagome looks at him.   
  
He is a sitting down. The long flowing robes he's wearing make it impossible to tell how he is sitting. He is wearing a large red robe, under it, she can see a purple robe. She's not a great judge of age, but he appears to be in his mid-thirties. Since he's sitting, she's not sure how tall, he is, but he's appears to be shorter than Sesshu. Unlike Sesshu's long flowing hair, his hair is tightly bound and curled under a skull cap. His face looks similar to the pictures she's seen of her grandfather when he was young.  
  
"Twist your head sideways." He orders. Kagome does. "Hmm. You could be correct, Sesshu. She does appear to have his face." He pauses, "I suppose if he did take a peasant to be his bed warmer, " Kagome bristles at the dismissive attitude, but doesn't say anything. "He would have used a different name. But, why, then still use the Higurashi name?"   
  
"Is he still alive?" Sesshu asks his guest  
  
"No. He died a while back." He replies. He looks at Kagome and says, "I will need to write a letter for you to deliver to your father."  
  
Kagome clears her throat. "Go on."  
  
"My father is dead, Noble sir."  
  
Kanten, who has remained in the doorway, interrupts saying, "You will address a noble of the fifth rank by saying Lord."  
  
"My father is dead, Noble lords."   
  
"Hmmm. Then who is the artist?" Sesshu asks.  
  
"My mother, great artist Sesshu."  
  
"Girl. I will write a letter to your parent. This letter will demand an explanation for the use of my family's name. Until I receive an acceptable answer, you are not to use the name Higurashi." Kagome's ancestor orders. "If you misuse the Higurashi family name, you will regret it." He says harshly.  
  
"Yes, noble Lord. I understand."  
  
"Sensei, I can see in your eyes a desire to ask more about the artist. And I have delivered the message from my wife. I need to be at the palace soon, so I can, as inspector of shrines, accept a gift from the Higurashi family. I, also, need to get that letter written, so, with your permission." The man slightly bows to Sesshu and covers his face with his fan.  
  
"Of course, lord Higurashi." Sesshu rises, "Let me see you out." He looks at Kagome. "Girl. Remain here until I return."  
  
"Sensei, if you could, please pass onto me anything she says about her family." Higurashi says as he leaves the room.  
  
"Of course, noble of the fifth rank."   
  
While waiting for Sesshu to return Kagome thinks, 'Well . . . that fits in with what I know about my families history. We were part of the department of religion and ran a shrine in Kyoto. After Edo began to grow, part of the family moved to Edo and started the shrine where I grew up.'   
  
She smiles softly, 'He married into the shrine family already there, providing additional status to the shrine. Sigh . . . ' her mouth twitches, 'However, the records of the family he married into were lost in a fire about 200 years ago, so I don't know what the connection is between Keade and my family.'  
  
She nods to herself, "After that the family slowly declined in power and influence. Sigh. A couple of idiots that just had to gamble and disport with the geisha of Edo. But, still, the family was fine until the family chose to follow the Shogun instead of emperor Meiji. That's what cost the family the most. Once the shogunate was destroyed, the family was reduced to just the shrine. All of the other privileges and property were removed as punishment. Which, of course, is why grandfather always longs for the days before the restoration.'  
  
"I do wonder why he has to accept a gift from himself?" She asks herself in a low voice.  
  
The door slides open and Sesshu enters the room. "It is customary for peasant girls, such as yourself, to bow when your superior enters." He says dryly.  
  
Kagome bows, placing her face on the floor.  
  
"You can look up." Sesshu says, "to answer your question. As Inspector of shrines, he accepts gifts from all the major shrines. If the Higurashi shrine does not make a gift, than other shrines will decide that they can stop giving gifts as well." He sits down.   
  
"The gifts are to see that the shrines are approved and that the rites each shrine performs are correctly done." Sesshu sighs. "It is so hard to find a good scribe nowadays. And the paperwork must be without error, of any type, even the smallest of mis stokes, before it can be approved." He pauses.  
  
"Without the gift, locating a good scribe becomes harder." She tentatively says. He nods.  
  
"Thank you for explaining to my unworthy self."   
  
He picks up the artwork and moves to one side and opens a sliding door. This opens the room up to the interior courtyard and lets in the early morning sunlight.   
  
Kagome can see the beautiful garden in the courtyard.   
  
The large, massive, but moss-covered stone dominates it. Surrounding it is three stone lanterns which are also moss covered. In front of the stone is a small statue of the god Jizo, in his aspect of a protector of dogs. Surrounding this is a few trees and large bushes that seem to meld into one plant of many flowers. Between the stones and the trees is a white sanded strip. Even the smallest piece of dirt would show up against the white sands. The effect is that of a still stream of a white river in some lonesome, drowsy place. Kagome thinks, 'I wonder how long the garden has been there. The stone, the lamps, the statue of Jizo, seem ancient. And if they are ancient in this time . . . how old is this garden', she thinks.  
  
He examines the art in the natural sunlight. He grunts. He returns to the sitting position he was in when Kagome entered the room. He puts the art down and says, "Your mother, you said."  
  
"Yes, sir. I have a letter from her as well that she wished me to you." Kagome says.  
  
"Let's see the letter." He orders.  
  
"It's in the tube with some additional artwork, sir."  
  
"Kanten! That tube!"  
  
"Sir. Lord!" the dwarf enters the room in a rush. "I was unaware." He offers the tube to his master.  
  
"You are unaware of your head being attached." He growls and takes the tube, opens it, and removes all the contents.  
  
He glances at Kagome and seeing the curiosity in her eyes, deigns to say, "I found him, bloody and injured, during my travels. The village he was in threw him out because of his odd looks. He's been with me ever since." He sighs. "I suppose, it's my kind and gentle nature that allows me to accept that such an inferior person can help me." He waves his hand dismissing the dwarf, opens the letter and starts to read it, totally ignoring Kanten and Kagome.   
  
"Hmmm . . . I see." He puts down the letter and looks at Kagome. "She mentions that your travel plans could be very changeable."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"So, I suppose you'll be wanting my critique of this art soon."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"How soon before you leave the city?"  
  
"I, I don't know. It could be tomorrow. It could be longer. I could have to leave Kyoto in a hurry."  
  
"The village of Keade, musashi province, near Edo . . . I suppose, they'll be someone in the tax ministry that can give me a real location to that." He pauses then he says, "return each morning that you are in Kyoto. If I am finished, I will hand you the tube and it's contents. If you do not show up, after a week, I will inquire about that location and send the tube to it."  
  
"Thank you, sir. My mother will be forever in your debt."  
  
"No doubt." A pause. "You may leave."  
  
Kagome starts to back away, but stops, and before she can stop herself, "Are you him . . . Sesshoumaru?"  
  
Sesshu starts and looks at her, closely. To Kagome, this is the fist time, she thinks, he's actually paid attention to her.  
  
"You are aware of the lord of the western lands?"  
  
"I've met him." She pauses, her voice firms. "And lived."  
  
"Hmmm . . . " he stares at her. She stares at him.   
  
"I will answer that question in this way, girl. IF I am human, implying that I am the lord of the western lands, causes people to treat me with respect and caution. I am not an ordinary person or artist. And being so exceptional that allows me to do things others cannot. And this causes other ordinary people to treat me differently. For instance, the local samurai that charge a fee for," a pause, "protection" Kagome can hear the quotes. "Do not bother me."  
  
He raises an eyebrow, "And after that problem with a demon cat, a local shrine to the god Jizo, as a protector of dogs, has been very helpful. They provided the various wards around this house." A twinkle appears in his eyes, "I suppose they think that they are helping the lord of the western lands."  
  
A pause. "On the other hand, If I am the lord of the western lands living in a city full of humans? Why would the lord of the western lands, who's hatred of humans is well known, even think about disguising himself as one?" a pause then, "You're met the lord of the western lands?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"I assume you've met other demons?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Good. Tell me. If you were to show this art." He points to Kagome's mother art. "Or any other object of beauty, what would they do? Would they praise and admire the beauty of the object, or would they, say, pick their nose, fart, and ignore it?"  
  
Kagome barely suppresses a giggle. 'Gods... that describes Inu-yasha totally. That time, early on, when I pointed out a beautiful sunset over the mountains and he did just what Sesshu described.'  
  
She swallows, "Sir, I would have to say the second option."  
  
"And if the lord of the western lands did happen to enjoy painting, poetry and other similar arts, could he do so openly?"  
  
She starts, surprised, and blurts out, "no."  
  
"No. Sir." She bows her head. "But I will ignore that and continue. So perhaps I am the lord of the western lands, using this disguise as a way to express myself, but not in a way that would damage the reputation of the lord of the western lands."  
  
"..."  
  
"Or perhaps, I am just a normal human. But the lord of the western lands has ordered me to assume the name and persona of Sesshu. I go on many trips, looking for places to paint. Perhaps, during those travels, I met with the lord of the western lands, and I tell him what is happening in the city, and he gives to me the paintings I show the city. Where he acquires the art, I may or may not know."  
  
"Sir." A pause as she tries to catch his eyes. But Sesshu appears to looking off in the distance, not focusing on what's happening now. "Which answer?"  
  
"One of them is true, girl." He smiles, "but which? That question I shall not answer."  
  
In a hard voice he says, "Leave." He motions with his arm and points to the doorway.   
  
Which draws Kagome's attention to the fact that he has used both hands in holding the art and other actions. 'He's not Sess then. Or is he? Adding arms is something he's done in the past and a human appearing arm is possible.'  
  
As she leaves the room, Kagome hears Sesshu say, "Miko."  
  
She turns around to look at him. "The letter your mother wrote, mentions a quest. I do pay closer attention to what happens outside the city than Higurashi does. I am aware of various stories about a miko that bears your name." He says with some dry humor in his voice.  
  
A pause. Kagome straightens and looks him directly in the eye, "And If I am the person in those stories?"  
  
"Some advice. For a girl to succeed in such a quest, she must be bold, be different, be willing to ignore the restraints that society places upon the female sex."   
  
He looks at her face, hard, his mouth twitches into an almost smile. "Don't pretend to be a simple girl. If you do, all that will happen is you will be ignored. Do something and force people to acknowledge you. Since you do not have a family, nor any other normal method, use the powers I can feel in you."  
  
He pauses, "Force people to react to you. Do not react to others."  
  
A pause. "Oh, yes, if the stories I heard are correct. And they are wrong on occasion. There are many objects of art in this house. It would greatly pain me if they were to be destroyed. The lord of the western lands younger half-brother would, I'm sure, destroy such objects."  
  
"I understand, sir. If those stories are correct, and if I'm the girl in those stories, and if Inu-yasha is traveling with me, I will see, to the best of my ability, that this house is left undisturbed " Kagome finishes with a twinkle in her eyes. A similar twinkle is in the eyes of Sesshu.   
  
"You may leave now. I would wish you luck, but" he smiles, "You'll make your own luck or you'll fail."   
  
Kagome bows, "Thank you . . . Sess" she swallows at his very convincing growl, and finishes with "sir."  
  
As Kagome walks down the hall to the door, Kanten joins her to escort her out of the house. He is wearing a necklace of mismatched flowers. She can hear him grumbling, "stupid little girl. Trying to learn flower arraigning . . . "  
  
Kagome, grins, shakes her head and leaves the building.  
  
"Gods, monk. I fucking hate this robe." Inu-yasha complains as Miroku reminds him, again, about keeping his face covered so Inu-yasha's disguise as an old man isn't blown.  
  
"It's necessary, Inu-yasha."  
  
"How are we going to find the girls?" Shippo asks. "Inu-yasha sometimes has trouble sorting smells in small villages. I don't think he'll be able to it in the city."  
  
Inu-yasha growls. "I can, kit."  
  
"I wish that you would not, Inu-yasha. The sight of you with your nose to the ground, sniffing, causes enough questions in small villages, I would hate to see the reaction in Kyoto." Miroku quickly says.  
  
"Then how, Miroku?" Shippo whines.  
  
"Easily enough, we'll pretend that we were part of a group that got separated on our way to Kyoto. By bandits, if anyone asks. And we'll simply ask various inns and temples if a couple of unattached young women slept there last night." Miroku grins. "Women, especially young women with non-Kyoto accents, do not wander around without being noticed. I can promise you that."  
  
"You'll do the talking, I suppose." Inu-yasha grumbles in a disgusted voice.   
  
"Oh, course, Inu-yasha." Miroku bows. "Although, the thought of you having to say please and beg for help, is a very tempting thing to see."  
  
"Fuck you."  
  
The boys, then, wander the city. They stop in various inns and temples and Miroku does most of the speaking. (Oh, Shippo pipes up with a comment or two. And Inu-yasha grumbles on occasion, but nothing serious.)  
  
Miroku does ask about rumors of magical and demonic happenings, 'wherever the shard is, they'll be demons nearby, perhaps if I compare rumors about where the shard is and where the rumors about demons are . . . I'll come up with something.' He thinks.  
  
Because of this, the boys hear a rumor that there was an attack on a compound by zombies this morning. The size of the attack, the damage caused by the attack, differs from story to story, but all the stories agree that the zombies were carrying a scroll and on the scroll, were instructions for the zombies. In the instructions, however, was the name of the family that sent the zombies. That families name is Yamakawa. What will happen next is not known in the rumors.  
  
Their wanderings are interrupted by a parade of soldiers. They, along with the other people in the street, are forced to stand and watch as a parade of several thousand men, in armor and weapons march down the street. In front of them is a standard bearer of the house of Hosokawa.   
  
Inu-yasha's and Shippo's ears, listening to the soldiers complain among themselves, pick up various rumors, which they share with Miroku. Among the rumors they heard, are that these were the soldiers the boys saw last afternoon. They are marching the streets of Kyoto as a show of force, to prevent the tensions from increasing.   
  
The officers are talking about preparing an attack on the Yamakawa compound. They used magic this morning in the zombie attack. And since it was such an open attack, there must be a response. The Hosokawa family and other families are going to combine up and destroy the Yamakawa family. These soldiers, or at least some of them, think that they will be used in the attack.  
  
The boys shrug their shoulders, 'nothing to do with us.' They think.  
  
As they wander the city, they, like the girls, come across all sorts of merchants.   
  
One of them, seeing Inu-yasha looking like an old man, comes up to him and thrusts a bamboo vial in his face. "Hey, I've got just what you need old man. If you use this, you'll be able to marry a young woman and keep her happy in bed!"  
  
"Grrr." Inu-yasha growls and the hand, that's not holding Shippo begins to raise. Miroku's staff, by coincidence (he'll swear) blocks his hand from raising.   
  
"I am sorry, but my father does not need that type of help." He says, trying to give the offensive man the brush off.   
  
"Then, do you? If a young man like you uses it, you'll be able to go at least seven times in one night!"  
  
Miroku takes the vial from the man's hand. He glances around, 'like I hoped, people are watching. A local man trying to con an outsider, it's always good for a joke.' He thinks.  
  
Miroku says, "I am sorry, but I will not be purchasing this." He raises his eyebrow and he says, in a louder than normal voice, "Why would I want to drink something that would slow me down?"  
  
The boys walk away. Shippo crawls up Inu-yasha's arm and pulls down his right eyelid and gives the man the red-eye as he giggles.  
  
"Good one, Miroku." Inu-yasha pats the monk's back.  
  
The man's jaw drops down. He glances around and can see most of the people on the street are either covering their mouths so they can grin and laugh anonymously or have turned their backs on him.  
  
'Shit! And I sell a lot of this crap to monks. Who'd have thought one of them would have refused . . . ' he thinks?  
  
End chapter 7  
  
Sigh . . . I wanted to put some action in this chapter, but, the Kagome/Sesshu scene went overboard, so a joke to end the chapter.   
  
Sesshu: a short biography:  
  
Born in 1420 in present-day Okayama Prefecture, Sesshu lived as a Zen monk in Kyoto until his mid-30s. In Kyoto, he studied under Shubun, regarded as the greatest artist of his time. From 1466 to 1469, Sesshu traveled to China as part of a diplomatic envoy to the Ming court. There he studied and copied the techniques and styles of renowned Sung Dynasty painters like Xia Gui (ca. 1200-50) and Ma Yuan (ca. 1190-1224). This influence appears in Sesshu's hatsuboku (splashed ink), Chinese figures, and copious landscape paintings based on Chinese models. The artist died around 1506.  
  
Once I started to write Inu-yasha fanfiction, I knew I had, somehow, use the name Sesshu. (Or perhaps his student Sesson). Hopefully, the story is interesting enough to allow me to change this biography.  
  
Is the character (Sesshu) above Sesshoumaru? I'm not going to say. I've written this so the answer could be yes or could be no. Is Sesshu the father of the man how will give the Higurashi name to the shrine near Keade village? The answer, in this case, is yes.   
  
For those interested. The Sir & Lord bit: Kagome would be using the -sama suffix. In this time frame, that is wrong. -dono is used. (For my purposes, the difference it's the between sir and lord. It's not that, but it's close) Governors, which I suppose you could say that the lord of the western lands is, the proper suffix to use when addressing a person of that rank was -kami. So technically speaking . . . You would, properly, address him as Sesshoumaru-dono or Sesshoumaru-kami. (Oh, yes, I know the manga/anime doesn't do it like that. I just going by the real history and how people of that sort of rank were addressed at this time, ok)  
  
A note about the importance of clothing and families. I need to make a comparison with something modern to help . . . I'm going to use the military. In the military, you have uniforms, rank badges, unit patches, and medals, these allow people to know who's who at a glance, ok. In Feudal Japan, clothing and families, worked the same way. By looking at a person's clothing, you could tell what rank/social class a person was. Once you knew the family that the person belonged to, you would know, pretty much all you needed to know about the person. (This was the main reasons that clothing regulation were in place in Japan. If you were wearing the wrong clothes, it was like a private dressing up as captain . . . laws and punishments were there to keep people in their place.)  
  
In case Kagome's family history confused readers. In the late 1860's the rule by shogun was overthrown and modern japan under the emperor Meiji was started. The shrine, being in Tokyo, would have had to back the Shogun, it was that or be destroyed. After the fall of the shogun . . . well, the new government did rearrange things to suit themselves . . .   
  
Some interesting links . . .   
  
Japanese Dog Folklore . . . where I found the Jizo bits for this story.

swampfox. demon. co. uk/ utlah/ Articles/ japdog.html  
  
The tale of Genji online . . . the culture that Kyoto wants to pretend still existed. Written around 1000 ad. It is THE novel to read. If you want to know about the culture of Kyoto, this is the story to read. Ever noble in Kyoto tried to be a close to Genji as possible. He was the role model, everyone followed.

webworld. unesco. org/ genji/ en/ index.shtml

Hmmm . . . sighs. How to say this, I've tried to drum up readers for this story, but. Sigh. But . . . there are still only about 100 people following this story. And since you, the readers, have been more responsive than any other group of readers I've had, thank you.  
  
But, the readership of this story is not increasing . . .   
  
So . . . I am going to ask if any readers have any suggestions. (I would like to keep the rating at PG-13. And there will be more interaction between the two groups, one of the goals of this was to explore the group dynamics when you split them into pairs you normally don't read.)  
  
Thank you for reading.  
  
Jeff shelton 


	8. The group gets back together

Shard chapter 8  
  
A huge chapter . . . but I wanted to set up the next chapter . . . Not much historical in this chapter, just putting things together . . .   
  
Kagome walks away from Sesshu's house. She glances at her wrist, "How much time do I have?" she says to herself.  
  
She sees her bare wrist. 'I forgot. Sango has my watch.' She thinks. She looks at the sky. 'I need to get the compound.'   
  
'Hmmm . . . ' she pulls out one of the maps she brought and looks at it. 'If I cut across here.'  
  
She, glances around and she quickly puts the map up and leaves the area. A couple of people were looking at her. 'The colors and shape of the map, it's different from normal. I've got to remember that.'  
  
'Now, remember, don't waste time site seeing.' Kagome thinks as she walks toward the compound.   
  
But . . . To ring the bell, at a temple, that in the future, is not rung any more due to the age of the bell.   
  
Well . . . To walk through temples she's seen and to compare the differences.   
  
Sigh . . . To photograph some of the statues, especially the wooden ones that have been destroyed through the years, are just irresistible.   
  
"Who is that girl?" an old priest asks as Kagome is leaving a temple.  
  
"Just a peasant, sir." The younger priest replies in an offhand manner.  
  
The old priest stares at Kagome. "No. She is not a peasant. That is obvious."  
  
"Sir, I beg to differ."  
  
"Don't use your eyes, use your soul to see her."  
  
"..."  
  
"Just follow her. I want to know everything about her." The old priest orders. "Move!"  
  
'Idiots today . . . ' the old priest thinks.  
  
The younger priest leaves the temple and starts to follow Kagome. But in the traffic of the busy city streets, following Kagome is difficult.   
  
'This is a waste of time. He's just an old man and sometimes, he sees things that aren't there. And I do have chores I need to do in the temple.' He thinks. He stops following Kagome and returns to the temple, where he makes up a story off Kagome giving him the slip in a crowded street.  
  
Near the Yuki family compound close to noon.  
  
"Sango!" Kagome calls out to her friend. It took her a while to locate Sango, but she has changed into a different kimono.   
  
"Hi! Kagome!" Sango walks over to her friend. In Sango's arms is a bundle of cloth.   
  
"Well?" Kagome asks.  
  
"I had to use up most of our money, but, I learned some things." Sango replies. "I see that your mother's tube isn't with you. Did you finish want you needed to do?"  
  
"Ah, yes. I'll have to go back to his house to pick them up, but that can wait. Its lunch time, let's get something to eat and talk about what you found out."   
  
"Before we do that, Kagome. I have some new clothes for you to change into." Sango hands Kagome the bundle. Kagome hands Kirara to Sango.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"There are posters up describing me and you. Apparently that priest yesterday told his abbot about the encounter."  
  
"Great." Kagome mumbles in disgust.  
  
"It's not that bad, the description is mainly our clothing, so, once you've changed we should be different enough that nobody will recognize us." Sango's mouth twitches, "but, they did get something wrong."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Hmm . . . the name on the poster is Kikyo."  
  
Kagome's eyes bulge. "I'm Kikyo?" She squeaks out.   
  
She grits her teeth and says, "If I was Inu-yasha, then I could say 'god damn mother fucking assholes.' But, since I'm not him. I will not say that."   
  
Sango has a small grin on her face, "It's a good thing you're not him."  
  
"Yeah." Kagome sighs, "but seriously, I'm not in the city a day and people are already calling me Kikyo." She looks at the sky, "What, I pray, what do I have to do to change that? I'm just so disgusted about this. Just once, I'd like to change . . . " her voice trails off as she shakes her head.  
  
Sango nods.  
  
Kagome face gets a thoughtful look, "Hmmm. That might come in handy."  
  
Sango's eyebrow raises, "While you change, explain that to me."  
  
Kagome and Sango find a bathhouse and Kagome changes in there.  
  
"Sango, what I was thinking about is that sooner or later something is going to happen. You know, something that will attract attention, like those samurai last night."  
  
Sango nods.  
  
"And well, when that happens, if I call myself Kikyo, instead of Kagome, that might confuse people."  
  
"Ah, I see what you are saying. All those rumors about the jewel, most of them have Kikyo in them."  
  
"Yes, I've only heard a couple that mention me. I'm normally 'Inu-yasha's pet miko', if I'm in them at all."  
  
"Huff. Yes, the monk is in them, but me. No. Oh, occasionally, a 'demon exterminator' is mentioned."  
  
Kagome nods. "Kikyo, on the other hand, is mentioned a lot in the stories. By calling myself Kikyo . . . "  
  
"People will be confused and misjudge you."  
  
Kagome nods. "Also, Sango, I've been thinking, about us just trying to blend in. Simple peasants aren't going to be able to do all that much. But . . . especially if I wear my school uniform, and you as a demon exterminator in full uniform, we would be hard to ignore."  
  
"Maybe, Kagome. But, if we do that, we've got to make sure the first time we do it, we are very noticeable. You have to make a massive impression for that idea to work."  
  
Kagome nods, purses her lips, "I'll have to think about it some more. Well, let's get something to eat and talk about what you learned."  
  
A few minutes later . . .   
  
"What did you learn, Sango?"  
  
"Not good, Kagome. They've been packing soldiers inside the compound. And several of the surrounding houses have been taken over with even more soldiers."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Too many different numbers to be sure. At least a couple of hundred, though. I don't think you could put a couple of thousand into those houses."  
  
"Thousands?" Kagome asks in a surprised voice.  
  
"That was the high number, but, I don't believe it."  
  
"The other troubling thing is that there is a complex of rooms underground."  
  
Kagome sighs, "I thought so. The shard feels like it's below ground level."  
  
"Not good, Kagome. If it was above ground, the walls inside the compound are normal rice paper with an occasional solid wall to support the roof. Underground, though."  
  
"Yes, I see, especially with just my sense of direction to go on. I will know the direction the shard is in, but, how do we know which corridor to use?"  
  
Sango nods, "Yes, aboveground, we can follow your senses and crash through walls without problems, but doing that underground . . . " Sango bites her lips. "I just have this concern about collapsing walls and us being trapped underground."  
  
Kagome slowly nods. "Can we get a map of the compound, especially the underground parts?"  
  
Sango grimaces, "No. And I probably made a bad mistake when I asked for something like that. The women had been talkative, but as soon as I asked about that, the mood of shifted." She sighs, "I wish that you had been there, Kagome. You're a lot better at making friends than I am."  
  
Kagome grimaces, "I am sorry, Sango. I should have thought about that." She glances at her friend and quietly asks, "Do you think your cover has been blown?"  
  
"Huh? Kagome. There are times when your slang makes you hard to understand."  
  
"Oops. I meant, do you think they figured out why you were asking about the compound?"  
  
Sighs . . . "I don't think so, but they know I was up to something. I know that they don't know about the jewel. But I was asking questions that are not normally asked and they realized I was after something strange." She pauses then she says, "But still, they could be prepared for something. It depends on whither or not the women talk about me and if the samurai believes them."  
  
"Its women's gossip, they'll probably ignore it, they're men." Kagome declares.  
  
"I'd like to believe that, Kagome. But, since they have the shard, I know I'd be more paranoid than normal."  
  
"Enough to believe the women's gossip?" Kagome asks.  
  
Sango nods.  
  
Kagome purses her lips, "so, what should we do? Should I try and make friends and get more information? Or should we go ahead and find the boys?"  
  
"I think we should get the boys, Kagome." Sango says. "Oh, you might make friends, but, I don't think you'll leave a lot more."  
  
"Maybe, Sango. But, there is times when I've found out things by asking in the villages we've visited."  
  
"This feels different Kagome. The city, the talk I'm hearing, everything is on edge, like a massive typhoon is about to hit the city and everybody is . . . " Sango shakes her head, "It feels like . . . Oh . . . Like we when are waiting for an attack by Naraku."  
  
"I had been hoping my feelings were wrong, Sango."  
  
"You felt the same."  
  
"Yes. I even thought I sensed Kagura earlier, but that's impossible." Kagome looks at the ground and sighs, "I don't like the tension I'm feeling."  
  
"And, Kagome, the other reason I want to get the boys is Inu-yasha."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"How long before he comes into the city?"  
  
"He promised . . . " Kagome's mouth twitches into a frown. "Yes, you are probably correct. He's probably fighting with Miroku now, wanting to enter the city."  
  
"And I'm sure he'll be coming into the city early tomorrow morning, day break or so, at the latest. I don't want to have to depend on your ability to sense the shards he's wearing to find him."  
  
Kagome starts a bit. "Yes. And it's still early enough that we can leave the city and find them in the hills."   
  
"Good, we'll find the boys now."  
  
The girls leave and start to walk toward the eastern side of the city.  
  
'Damned robe. Hiding my ears and covering my face enough so my eyes aren't noticeable.' Inu-yasha angrily thinks. 'I hate hiding.'  
  
Inu-yasha, with Shippo in his arms, and Miroku are walking along the eastern edge of the city. They are going in and out of the various houses and compound's that make up the edge of the city. They are stopped occasionally by soldiers asking questions, but once they hear that the kid is sick. Well . . . the questions tend to be short and they don't examine him, or Inu-yasha, all that closely.  
  
"Why are we hanging around the eastern edge of the city, Miroku?" Shippo asks while he is in Inu-yasha arms.   
  
"Yeah, we need to be inside the city looking for the girls." Inu-yasha amplifies.  
  
"Because, guys, if the girls are going to leave the city to look for us, like they should be doing, they'll leave on the eastern side of the city. Hopefully we can spot them, or they can spot us."  
  
"Feh."  
  
Inu-yasha's ears twitch as they pass by an alley way. He glances into the alley.   
  
Inside the alley is a group of a half-dozen or so men. They are dressed in plain clothes, although a couple of them do have small swords hanging at their sides. They appeared to be gathered around a person. They are either helping him or . . .   
  
Beating the person that is yelling, "Stop! I've got the money!"  
  
Inu-yasha's teeth clench. 'Bullies. Fuck.' He thinks. He glances at Miroku. He has stopped and is looking into the alley as well.   
  
Miroku, glances at Inu-yasha, he grimaces and whispers, "It's not our concern. It'll waste time. The wrong move could expose you and your nature. We should leave."  
  
"Yes, I know." Inu-yasha replies. However, neither man moves from the mouth of the alley and both stare into the alley.  
  
One of the men in the alley turns and yells, "Go away! Do not interfere with the business of Uyesugi"  
  
"If he owes you money, beating him to death ain't going to get it!" Inu-yasha growls back.  
  
The man that yelled the first time now says, "Fuck you, old man! Go away! We'll do what we want!."  
  
"Old man . . . " Inu-yasha growls and he puts his hand on his sword hilt.  
  
"Help me, please!" the man being beaten yells!  
  
"I cannot ignore a cry for help." Miroku says as he enters the alley.  
  
"Insult me, boy." Inu-yasha puts Shippo down so he can fight without worrying about him. He, too, enters the alley.  
  
Three men continue to kick the man that they have been beating. Apparently they are going to kick him to death.   
  
Three other men, though, stop and walk toward Miroku and Inu-yasha.  
  
"Listen, monk. This ain't your business. Monkey-face here owes our boss money and since he ain't paid, we get to kick some sense into him." The one that's been talking says as he approaches.  
  
"If he owes your master money, like you said, there are other ways to get that money, than kicking him to death." Miroku calmly says. His eyes flick over the three men and he obviously dismisses them as a challenge.  
  
"Punk! Look me in my eyes and call me an old man." Inu-yasha grits out. He pulls back the hood of his robe and shacks his hair free.  
  
Miroku groans to himself.  
  
Shippo shakes his head and through the pain, starts to try to make an illusion that nothing is happening around the mouth of the alley.   
  
The three men stop, frightened expressions on their faces. "Ah, fuck . . . " one of them reflexively pulls his small sword out of the scabbard.  
  
Inu-yasha grins, showing his fangs, just the excuse he was looking for.  
  
"Don't kill!" Miroku yells as he sees Inu-yasha jump the three men.  
  
Hearing and seeing the commotion the other three men stop kicking the man on the ground and turn around, only to have Inu-yasha throw one of their friends into them.  
  
Within seconds all the men in the alley are down, unconscious. "Thank you for not killing them." Miroku says.  
  
"I didn't do it out any kindness, monk. The bitch would have sat me until my back broke, that is only reason these assholes are still alive." Inu-yasha says as he kicks one of the men to make sure he's down and out.  
  
Miroku walks past Inu-yasha to help the man that was being attacked. When he passes Inu-yasha, Inu-yasha slumps down, puts his hands on his knees to steady himself. 'Fucking spells! Every time I use my abilities, it fucking hurts! And it's getting worse.' He thinks to himself and he breathes in and out deeply, trying to recover.   
  
The man that was being beaten shakily gets up. Now that he's standing, Miroku and Inu-yasha can get a good look at him and they see that he's not a man, just a teenager. He's probably around fifteen on so year's old. His head is odd-shaped, and it does indeed make him look like a monkey. His arms also longer than they should be, which reinforces the impression of a monkey. His torn clothes are of poor quality.  
  
He looks at Inu-yasha and whispers, "Demon."  
  
"Shit." Inu-yasha stands up straight and looks around. He remembers that he's supposed to be hiding his appearance. He replaces the hood over his head.   
  
He grins, a wickedly evil grin, like he's about to play a horrible joke on someone.  
  
"Call me . . . Kouga. A wolf demon." He says to the teenager.  
  
The teenager swallows, bows, and says, "I am Hiyoshimaru." He licks his lips, "I, I owe you my life."  
  
Miroku waves his staff. "We were just helping to even the odds." He pauses, "If you did owe their boss money, I would suggest getting it."  
  
Hiyoshimaru nods, "Yes, I have it. I was going to deliver it today, but." He waves his hand at the six unconscious men.  
  
"Paying what you owe before they wake up, might be a good idea." Miroku says. He nods.  
  
"I'd get out of town, kid. When they wake up, they'll want to take their anger out on someone. And it ain't going to be us." Inu-yasha says.  
  
"Yes, lord." He says,   
  
Inu-yasha cat-eating grin grows when he hears that compliment. "We've wasted enough time here, monk. Let's go." Inu-yasha says as he turns around as starts to walk away.  
  
Miroku looks around at the men on the ground and he thinks, 'junk, worthless junk. It's not worth the time to loot them.'  
  
Miroku bows to the teenager and says, "Hopefully in the future, your problems will be less."  
  
Inu-yasha bends down and picks up Shippo as he leaves the alley. Shippo is unconscious. "Monk!" Inu-yasha hisses.  
  
Miroku quickly reaches Shippo and looks him over. "He must have tried to do a spell and it knocked him out, Inu-yasha. I think he'll be fine. He just needs to rest. We might think about leaving the city and sleeping in the hills tonight to help him."  
  
"Yeah, maybe. I still want to find the girls, though."   
  
They walk away from the alley. And after a little while, Miroku coughs and says, "Kouga, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, good idea, huh." Inu-yasha grins. "This fucking city might hate Inu-yasha, but Kouga. That's different. They know spit about him. By using his name, I can do shit and not get noticed." His grin is ear to ear by the time he finishes. "And by the time I'm done. His reputation . . . this will fun . . . " He reaches up to the hood of his robe.  
  
Miroku clouts Inu-yasha across his head. "Inu-, Kouga, rather, you are still a demon and that hood is still needed." Inu-yasha rubs his head and glares at Miroku. "Your . . . idea. About your name might be a good one. But, do not overuse it. Once people know that you are a demon, it may not and will not matter who you are. You, a demon, are to be destroyed."  
  
Miroku allows a slight grin, "But, the confusion over that name, it might be useful, so, Kouga, you are."  
  
Inu-yasha smiles. 'Now, what can I do that will cause his reputation to get so low, he'll have to eat earthworm shit.' He thinks.  
  
Back at the alley . . .   
  
Hiyoshimaru thinks, 'I should get out of the city. I've got no more reasons to stay. This attack just proves I've got no friends here.' He looks at the unconscious men. He reaches for one of the small swords on the ground.  
  
"But before I leave. I'll need money, and nobody calls me monkey-boy." He whispers. He begins to loot the men and before he leaves each men, he cuts their throats.  
  
"I do owe the monk and that demon. They saved my life. How can I repay them?" He says as he leaves the alley. 'Maybe they went in this direction?' he thinks as he walks down the street.  
  
"Nothing." Kagura stands over a group of dead bodies.  
  
"All they knew were rumors. None of them knew anything real." She uses her fan to cut open one of the dead bodies.  
  
"How am I going to find out which rumor is correct?" She says to herself.   
  
'In most villages that have shards, it's simple. There are only one or two stories. But here, there are dozens, if not hundreds of stories.' She thinks. 'My normal tactics isn't going to work. So, what do I do?'  
  
She screws her face in concentration, 'I probably have enough to get Naraku here, but, I don't want to bring him here just yet. I want to get the shards I feel.' She rubs the amulet Naraku gave her, 'but even with this, attacking each compound, hoping to draw the attention of the shard holder, isn't a good idea. I cannot withstand all the forces this city can bring against me.'  
  
"Perhaps if I can find some idiots . . . " She says to herself. She pauses. Her mouth twitches into a smile. "Yes, it's obvious that there are some very desperate families in this city. Show them some of my abilities, let them think I can help them, use their foot soldiers to winnow out the wrong rumors."  
  
She smiles, "Then, when I've located the shards, destroy them all."  
  
"You! Stop those witches!" A man's voice is heard yelling at Kagome and Sango as they are almost to the edge of the city. Small screams and scrambling noises are also coming from behind them.  
  
Both girls turn around to see the commotion.   
  
Behind them is the three samurai from last night. "Now, you witches, let's see how well you do in broad daylight!" one of them yells.  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each. "Do we run away?" Kagome whispers.  
  
Sango pauses, a slightly confused look on her face, and she replies, "It would perhaps be best, but running from these . . . just feels wrong."  
  
By the time Sango finishes talking, however, the three samurai are very close. They pull their swords and charge the girls with only the cry, "Die! Witches!" as a warning.  
  
Sango grabs Kagome and jumps out of the way.   
  
She shoves Kagome into a crowd of men and women, twirls around, staring at the samurai.   
  
"Did you see that?!" people in the crowd whispers at Sango's display of prowess.  
  
"I told you last night. You are dealing with someone beyond your ability." She growls out.  
  
The three samurai charge her, ignoring her attempt to stop them.   
  
Sango clamps both hands on the sides of one of the blade of the samurai in the middle of the trio, and twists it out of his hands. He stares stupidly at his empty hands.  
  
She goes with the twist and puts the first samurai between her and the second samurai. With her right foot she kicks the third samurai in the stomach. He instantly bends over, spewing vomit in the street.  
  
She flips the sword and grabs it by the hilt. She moves behind the first samurai and, using the hilt, smashes it against the back of the third samurai's head before he can react to her movements. He falls to the ground unconscious.  
  
She places the sword's edge against the neck of the first samurai. He instantly freezes. "Next time, I'll get mad." She says before using her free hand to knock him unconscious. A glance at the samurai that she kicked in the stomach shows that he is still emptying his stomach.  
  
She goes over to him, bends down, and next to him, she drives the sword she captured into the hard packed earth of the street. It sinks to the hilt.   
  
She stands up and goes over to Kagome.  
  
Only bare seconds have pasted since the start of the fight.  
  
"Let's go, Kag . . . Kikyo." She says as she reaches Kagome.  
  
"Yes." Kagome says in an awed tone. Normally Sango is fighting against demons with similar or better abilities than her, so seeing her in action, against regular humans, just shows how good she really is.  
  
"Witches!" "Has to have made a deal with a demon?!" "Demons in disguise!" the crowd around Sango and Kagome is getting over the shock of the attack and the crowd is becoming angry. "Get them!" "No way! You saw what she did!"  
  
"You! Stop those witches!" Inu-yasha and Miroku hear in the distance.  
  
They look at each other. "Do we go over there?" Miroku asks in general.  
  
Inu-yasha replies, "No."   
  
He pauses, sniffs, coughs, and he says, "Yes. We do go over there. I think I smell Kagome."  
  
He starts to push his way through the crowd. Miroku follows, "Excuse us! Exorcist coming through! Thank you!" he says to the people as he and Inu-yasha makes it through the crowd.  
  
They get to the edge of the crowd in time to see and hear Sango say, "let's go Kag . . . Kikyo."  
  
Both boys look at each other, shrug.  
  
Miroku pulls out a couple of scrolls and charges the girls, "These will hold them!" he waves the scrolls over his head.   
  
Inu-yasha thinks, 'what the fuck!' and follows the monk.  
  
The two girls stare at Miroku. "Mir." Kagome starts to speak.  
  
Miroku reaches the girls and places a scroll on both foreheads, "Pretend to go unconscious!" he hisses to them.   
  
"Do it!" Inu-yasha hisses as well.   
  
Both girls start to collapse, but are caught by Inu-yasha and Miroku. "We've got it under control now!" Miroku yells to the crowd. "Open up a path so we can take them to the temple to be exorcized!" he calls out.  
  
As Miroku is talking to the crowd, "Shippo!" Kagome hisses into Inu-yasha's ear. When Inu-yasha picked her up, he put Shippo in her arms. He is still unconscious.  
  
"I'll explain later, bitch, be quiet." Inu-yasha growls back.  
  
A path opens up in the crowd and with the girls in their arms, the boys start to jog, and then, once passed the edge of the crowd, run away.  
  
In the lead is Inu-yasha with Kagome in his arms, in a bridal position. Shippo is cradled in her arms.  
  
Miroku has Sango flung over his right shoulder, one hand on her backside to keep her in place, of course. Kirara is running along side.  
  
As soon as Sango, who is looking behind them, sees that they have lost the crowd and are in a part of the city that doesn't know what's going on, she hisses to Miroku. "Go into an alleyway! Now!"   
  
Miroku follows her orders and Inu-yasha, who heard them as well, stops and follows Miroku. "Why! Sango! We're clear!" He calls to her.  
  
Sango slaps Miroku's ass check hard, "Let go. You pervert monk!" She yells. He drops her, and rubs his backside.   
  
"You could have just asked, Sango." He says in a pitiful tone.   
  
"Yes, right." Sango says in a disgusted tone and she glares at him as she straightens her clothes.  
  
"What happened to Shippo?" Kagome asks.  
  
Inu-yasha looks down at Kagome, 'Shit! Kagome and her kimono . . . ' Kagome's clothes have also become disarrayed and Inu-yasha is getting a very good look at her cleavage.  
  
'No answer, why?' Kagome thinks as she looks away from Shippo and looks at Inu-yasha.   
  
She sees where Inu-yasha is staring. "Inu-yasha! Let go!"  
  
Inu-yasha drops her like a hot sweet potato.  
  
"Ouch!" She cries as she lands on the ground. "You could have hurt Shippo! Inu-yasha!" She glares at him. "Sit, boy!"  
  
Thump!  
  
Kagome twists to glare at Miroku. "I'm going to ask this one last time, then I'm going to get mad." She growls out in a very angry voice. "What happened to Shippo?"  
  
"Well, it like this, Lady Kagome . . . " Miroku starts to speak, but Sango interrupts. Sango is standing at the opening of the alleyway looking around.  
  
"Let's get out of the city, first. That run we just did attracted attention."   
  
"Yes, Lady Sango, that is a good idea. In addition, it will help Shippo to get out of the city." Miroku says.  
  
"If it will help Shippo, then what are we waiting for." Kagome interjects, "we're leaving now."  
  
Later on a wooded hillside outside the city . . .   
  
"Shippo? Are you ok?" Kagome whispers to him as he wakes up.  
  
"Ma . . . Kagome." Shippo says weakly. He tries to smile. "I covered up dog-boys mistake the best I could . . . "  
  
"Shh . . . rest." Kagome whispers. "I'm here."  
  
Shippo closes his eyes and breathes deeply and falls asleep again, this time with a smile on this face. Kagome arranges her futon and places Shippo on it.  
  
Kagome glares at Inu-yasha and Miroku, "The explanation had better be good." She warns.  
  
"It is, Kagome."  
  
"I don't have to explain." Inu-yasha begins.  
  
"Sit, boy!" Kagome yells!  
  
THUMP  
  
"First" is forced out of his mouth as his face hits the ground.  
  
"Shippo is hurt, Inu-yasha." Kagome's teeth grind as she speaks. "I will have an explanation, or I will break your back." She pauses, "And then, when it heals up, I'll do it again."  
  
"You bitches need to tell me what was going on, first!" Inu-yasha yells from the ground. 'I'm not getting up. That damn spell is just too painful around here.' He thinks.  
  
Kagome, with an angry expression on her face, says, "Shippo is hurt. Sango and I were and are fine. Your story will come first."   
  
"Lady Kagome." Miroku bows to her. "Here is what happened."  
  
Miroku gives a good concise description of what the boys have done since the girls left them, yesterday morning. The only thing he leaves out is the note he left at the first campsite.  
  
"Bitch, did you give the pervert those pens and paper like he said?" Inu-yasha asks as he smirks at Miroku.  
  
Kagome glances at Miroku. He has an innocent look on his face, the low hanging sun behind him is causing a halo effect around his head . . .   
  
"Inu-yasha, I have allowed Miroku to borrow my pens and paper before and if he had some, that is fine with me"  
  
"Shit!" Inu-yasha cries and walks around the camp to take the edge off his anger. 'Damn, I was sure he was lying and I could shove it down his throat.' He thinks.  
  
As Inu-yasha is walking around, Kagome mouths to Miroku, 'you owe me one.' Miroku nods.  
  
"So, people know that Inu-yasha is in the city." Sango says in a low meditative voice as he finishes.  
  
"Yeah, but, I've got a way around that." Inu-yasha grins, "Just call me, Kouga." The grin widens, "ain't anybody here after him."  
  
'At least not yet,' he thinks.  
  
"Kouga, hmmm." Sango says in a low voice, then nods in agreement.  
  
"Are you sure, Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Yeah. I can't hide the fact that I'm a demon, but I make people think I'm someone else."  
  
"IT should work, Lady Kagome. At least for a limited period of time." Miroku adds.  
  
"Now, bitch. What's your story?!" Inu-yasha demands.  
  
Sango and Kagome take turns telling their story.   
  
Kagome glosses over her meeting with Sesshu. "I found one of the artists my mother wanted me too and left the paintings with him. I have to go back later and get them." Is all she says.  
  
And neither girl mention Kagome's plan about using the name Kikyo inside the city. 'I forgot what Inu-yasha's reaction to the name Kikyo is likely to be' Sango thinks.  
  
"I knew the girls shouldn't have been alone, dammit!" Inu-yasha yells. "Those damn samurai shouldn't have done anything to them!"  
  
"Inu-yasha . . . " Kagome begins, "We are fine. Nothing happened." She says, and she continues with, "and I've got a plan in case something like that happens again."  
  
She closes her eyes, 'I didn't mean to say that. While that thought about Kikyo was nice, when I first thought about it, I forgot about its effect on Inu-yasha.' She thinks.  
  
Inu-yasha says sarcastically, "And what is this wonderful plan."   
  
Kagome hesitates, glances at Sango, who shrugs, and she says, "It's almost the same as your idea Inu-yasha, or should I say, Kouga."  
  
"Tell me, bitch."  
  
Kagome takes a deep breath and says, "There are posters around town. That monk we meet yesterday told people about me. But, whoever he told must have gotten confused." She pauses.  
  
"So, spit it out, wench."  
  
"Ok . . . you asked for it, Inu-yasha. The posters are calling me Kikyo." By the time Kagome finishes she looking at the ground.  
  
"..."  
  
In a small voice Kagome continues, "I had thought that by using that name, I could divert attention away from us, get people to do things wrong. But, now, that I've thought about it, it's probably a bad plan."   
  
"Actually, Kagome, that could work in our favor." Miroku says in a thoughtful tone. "Kikyo and the jewel are combined in most of the rumors in the city. By using that name, nobody like those insignificant samurai will touch you. They would be far too afraid of you because of the rumors." He rubs his chin in thought, "One the other hand, the larger families that are after the jewel, might do something. But if they do anything it'll be a kidnaping, so they can use the information that Kikyo would have."  
  
Miroku nods, "Kagome, your idea about using Kikyo's name, is I think a good idea. It'll give you some extra protection, at least at first."  
  
"Yes, but if she gets kidnaped?" Sango asks Miroku.  
  
Miroku shrugs, "They'll probably go easy at first. You can always increase the pain during torture. Which is good, as if she is kidnaped, this will give us more time to rescue her."  
  
Inu-yasha loudly growls, "who the fuck says she is going to be kidnaped." He glares at Kagome as he stands in front of her. "I thought you hated being called Kikyo."   
  
"I do, Inu-yasha." Kagome glares back, she steps close to Inu-yasha so they are only a handbreath apart. "I would have thought you would have hated to call yourself, Kouga."  
  
"That's different! Bitch! Don't change the subject!" He yells in her face.  
  
"Oh, yeah! Inu-yasha! You wanted to change your name to avoid problems. I wanted to use Kikyo's name to avoid problems." She says with hostility in her voice.  
  
Miroku and Sango look at each other. "We can't afford this right now." Sango whispers.   
  
Miroku nods. "Follow me." He moves between them and yells, "Stop you two! We don't have time for this!"   
  
Sango, beside Miroku, nods in agreement. "Come on, Kagome, let's move away and calm down."  
  
Miroku and Sango separate the two. As Miroku and Sango talk to Inu-yasha and Kagome, both of them glare at each other over the shoulders of the first two.  
  
"Fucking bitch doesn't want to be called Kikyo, and now she does." Inu-yasha says in a loud voice to Miroku as he looks over his shoulder and glares into Kagome's eyes.  
  
"Sango, I hate it when Inu-yasha calls me Kikyo, because I never know if he means me or her." Kagome says in a loud voice as he looks over Sango's shoulder and glares into Inu-yasha's eyes. Inu-yasha glances away for a second, then looks at her again.  
  
"Then, Kagome, why do you want to be called Kikyo now?" Sango asks.  
  
"I don't, Sango. But because of those posters, I going to be called Kikyo no matter what I do. And, and for once," Kagome pauses and closes her eyes, tears beginning to form in the corners, "just once, since I'm going to be called Kikyo away, which those posters will make sure of, I want it to be my idea, not a mistake." She glares at Inu-yasha, through the tears forming in her eyes.  
  
Inu-yasha shoves Miroku to one side, "Get out of my way, monk." He moves quickly over and grabs Kagome, "I'm going to talk to you, alone, bitch!" and starts to jump away. However, after a couple of, for him, normal jumps, he grimaces and lands.  
  
"Inu-yasha?"   
  
"It's nothing, bitch. We're far enough away anyways." He grits out.   
  
"Inu-yasha? It's the anti-demon spells, is it?"  
  
Inu-yasha yells into Kagome's face, "It's nothing! I'm not hurting!"  
  
Kagome grinds her teeth together and glares at Inu-yasha. "Inu-yasha." She closes her eyes, obviously trying to control her temper, and she says, "Please. All I want to do is help you."  
  
"I don't need any help, wench."  
  
Kagome takes a couple of deep breaths, and she says, "Inu-yasha, you might think hiding the pain and not letting me help you is macho and manly."  
  
"Feh."  
  
"Inu-yasha," Kagome reaches out to touch Inu-yasha's check, "I'd think better of you, if you would, for once, realize that having the courage to ask for help is braver than being stupid and not asking for help."  
  
Inu-yasha glances away.   
  
Kagome grins, and whispers, "Inu-yasha. It takes a great person to admit they need help." She smiles, "Could you imagine Sesshoumaru ever being willing to admit he needs help?"  
  
Inu-yasha huffs and he says, "never."  
  
Inu-yasha looks into her eyes and all he can see is Kagome's concern and affection. He licks his lips and looks around. "Inu-yasha, don't worry about them, they're our friends and they'll help you too."  
  
Inu-yasha looks down at the ground and he whispers, "When you touch me, it feels better."  
  
Kagome's face brightens up with a huge smile and she grabs Inu-yasha and hugs him. She puts her left hand on the back of his head and places his head on her chest. With her other hand she waves off Miroku and Sango who have been approaching.  
  
She can feel Inu-yasha relax and for the first time she can remember, she's supporting him. She giggles, "Feel better." She whispers.  
  
"Yeah." Inu-yasha whispers, "I, I've never needed"  
  
"Thank you for accepting my help." She sighs, "Although, I don't know what I can do about all the anti-demon spells around Kyoto."  
  
Inu-yasha takes a deep breath, smiles, 'smelling her . . . ' and he says, "I'm better now."   
  
"Yes, I know." Kagome whispers. She can feel his body reacting to the closeness of their bodies. She blushes, sighs, "We do need to talk, you know."  
  
"Yeah."   
  
neither of them says another word . . .   
  
They are still hugging with Inu-yasha head nestled on Kagome's chest.  
  
From a distance, "So, have you two decided what names to use yet!" Miroku yells to them.   
  
The two start and separate.   
  
'I was not thinking about baby names!' Kagome thinks as she blushes.  
  
"Well, Inu-yasha, do we use our names or do we use the name's Kouga and Kikyo?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Are you sure, Kagome?" He asks back.  
  
"I'm not going to like it one bit, Inu-yasha. But because of the rumors, I'm going to be called Kikyo no matter want you"   
  
Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Or I want to have happen. So, I might as well use that to our advantage."  
  
Inu-yasha goes, "Feh" and nods. He thinks, 'Yeah, listening to Miroku ask about those rumors today, I can see that happening.'  
  
Inu-yasha nods to Kagome, "Very well, Kago . . . " He stops and looks at Kagome. Kagome slowly and with obvious pain nods, he continues, "Kikyo." He grimaces. "We'll do it"  
  
Kagome grimaces, 'I never thought the day would come, when I'd want Inu-yasha to call me Kikyo.' She thinks.  
  
As they walk to the others she whispers, "How are you feeling, really, Inu-yasha."  
  
"It hurts, especially when I use my powers." He takes a deep breath, "But I'm not going to let a little pain interfere."  
  
"Stupid."  
  
He turns and stares at Kagome in shock.  
  
"Don't get cocky, Inu-yasha. You are not going to be able to do things you normally do here. Don't be stupid and try something that will fail."  
  
He growls, "I don't have to take your advice."  
  
"No, you don't Inu-yasha. But, don't forget it either."  
  
"Feh" Inu-yasha turns away and continues to walk to the others.  
  
"Oh, Inu-yasha." Kagome says as they get close to Miroku and Sango. "If you don't like to call me Kikyo, just go ahead and call me all other names you use."  
  
Inu-yasha starts and he grins, "Yeah, I just might do that." He growls at her, "And remember, until this is over, call me Kouga."  
  
"You two have settled on your names?" Miroku asks.  
  
"Feh"  
  
"Yes, Miroku, until we get the shard in Kyoto, call me, in public only, please, Kikyo. And we'll call Inu-yasha by the name Kouga." Kagome sighs as she finishes.  
  
"Good. Now what do we do next?" Sango asks. They sit down next to a fire that Sango and Miroku made while waiting for Kagome and Inu-yasha to finish their argument.   
  
"That's easy." Inu-yasha begins to say, "We know where the shard is. We go there, smash into the place, grab it and leave. What could be simpler?" He looks up at the sky, it's just about sunset, "Hell, we give it a couple of hours for everything to get dark and it'll be even easier."  
  
Kagome, Miroku and Sango look at each other. "Do you two any problem with that?" Kagome gently asks.  
  
Sango replies, "Unless we're going to do some more scouting, or since it's in a city, spying might be a better word, Inu-yasha's plan is about as good as any."  
  
Inu-yasha grins.   
  
Sango continues, "Of course, if we do attack at night, It'll be best to wait until an hour or two before sunrise before we attack, instead of in a couple hours like Inu-yasha purposed."  
  
"Why, wench?"  
  
"Why, Inu-yasha? That last hour or two before sunrise is when it's hardest to stay awake and alert. We'll probably be able to get past the sentries easier then. In addition, we'll probably have people chasing after us when we leave the city." She pauses  
  
The others nod in agreement.  
  
"So by waiting, we can get some sleep and be somewhat rested. Tomorrow will be a long day as we run away from the city. It'll probably take awhile to dodge them all."  
  
"Good idea, Sango." Kagome smiles at her friend.  
  
"Feh."  
  
Miroku nods.   
  
"What about you, Miroku, do you have any thoughts?" Kagome asks.  
  
In a thoughtful voice he says, "Hmmm . . . I am not going to presume to disagree with Inu-yasha or Sango over battlefield tactics." He nods to them.   
  
Inu-yasha allows a small grin to appear on his face. Sango narrows her eyes and she says, "I heard a but in there, monk."  
  
"I am concerned about the number of soldiers. Both in the compound and later as we leave the city."  
  
Sango gives a small laugh, "They're not a problem. At least if Inu-yasha still has most of his powers, like he's said." She nods to Inu-yasha. "If we attack early in the morning only a few, perhaps a couple of dozen, will be ready for combat. Between Inu-yasha and I, we can handle that. Which will allow you and Kagome to locate the shard while Inu-yasha and I are fighting." Inu-yasha grimaces, but does not say a thing.  
  
"And later, well, once we get a couple of hours or so away from Kyoto, Kirara's and Inu-yasha's powers will return in full. With all of us at full power, worst comes to worst, we can run and fly faster away than any group of soldiers." Her mouth twitches, "fighting I'm good at, monk. It was the spying part that I wasn't good at."  
  
"I see." Miroku nods. "Very well."   
  
"The other thing I was concerned about is how those three samurai located you two." Miroku nods to Sango. "You changed clothes and moved about the city, so they shouldn't have been able to locate you, especially if they are as incompetent as they appeared."  
  
"Huh, I didn't think about that." Kagome mummers, Sango nods as well.  
  
"Something is going on there, I think. But, for now, we can do nothing about that."  
  
"I know what to do, monk. The next time I see them, I will ask them questions." Sango says with a gleam in her eyes.  
  
Miroku nods, then he sighs and says, "The compound and our plan, it just seems very simple."  
  
"Simple is good, monk." Inu-yasha says, "There is less chance of mistakes. What did that man tell me once . . . oh yeah, Keep it simple, stupid."  
  
"Inu-yasha, I am not saying that simple isn't good. It's just that how often have we had a simple solution work properly?"  
  
The others look at each other and shake their heads. "Very rarely, right?" Miroku asks. They nod.  
  
Miroku sighs, "I would like to think the gods would give us a simple task, at least once, and this could be it. But, asking the gods for it, well . . . that just invites the gods to make our task complex."  
  
"Yes." "Feh" "maybe."  
  
"So, you think we should do something else, Miroku?" Kagome asks.  
  
"No, Lady Kagome. I'm just saying we need to be careful, I'm just afraid that something will happen and things will get." He pauses, as he is trying to locate the proper word. "Weird."  
  
A pause.  
  
"Now that, that is settled, we attack the compound just before sunrise. So, get to sleep, humans." Inu-yasha orders.  
  
Kirara shakes his head and hisses. He walks into the group and "mews" loudly and hisses, with his hair on his back standing on end.  
  
Inu-yasha jumps up and starts to look around, 'Ok, what is Kirara sensing that I'm missing?' he thinks.  
  
Sango bends down to pick Kirara up, only to have Kirara brush her off. "What is it, Kirara?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't sense anything. Are there some cats in heat nearby?" Inu-yasha asks as he walks around the campfire.  
  
Kirara picks up one of the sticks that was gathered for the campfire with his mouth. He then begins to use it to scratch the dirt.  
  
Inu-yasha in a puzzled tone, "Perhaps the anti-demon spells have gotten to the cat?"  
  
"No, Inu-yasha." Miroku says authoritatively. "Kirara is writing in the dirt."  
  
"I didn't know Kirara could do that. Sango, did you?" Kagome asks in surprise.  
  
"..." Sango closes her mouth. "A couple of stories about Kirara mention notes that nobody ever remembers writing. I, I" she shakes her head. "I was stupid."   
  
She bends down next to Kirara, being careful not to get in Kirara's way. "I'm sorry, Kirara. I should have realized after all these years you could read and write."  
  
Kirara 'mews' around the stick, but continues to scratch in the dirt.   
  
"Kagome." Miroku says, "Your pen and paper might be easier for Kirara."  
  
"Oh, yes. I wasn't thinking." Kagome says as she gets some paper and a pen out.  
  
Kirara quickly grabs the pen with his mouth and continues the message he's been writing.  
  
Kirara finishes and he backs away.   
  
The message reads:  
  
The compound has many anti-demon defenses. Inu-yasha and I could be severely hurt going inside.  
  
Kagome bows to Kirara, "I forgot about looking for magic around the compound. I am sorry."  
  
Inu-yasha yells, "You bitch! That's fucking important in this city, or have you forgotten about that!"  
  
"Inu-yasha, I said I was sorry. Spying isn't something I do every day!" Kagome yells back.  
  
"Yelling isn't going to solve this." Miroku interjects trying to calm both of them.  
  
"Shit." Everybody looks at Sango. She blushes, she, obviously, didn't mean to say that aloud. "I should have known, when Kirara didn't want to go alone, last night." She shakes her head. "And it makes sense that the shard owner would have a lot of anti-demon defense."  
  
"Huh? Why Sango?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Think about it. In just about every rumor, its demons going after the shards. Humans are only rarely mentioned. So, if I was to possess a shard, I would think that demons are more likely to be after it than humans."  
  
"So, you'd get as many anti-demon spells and objects as you could, to defend yourself against them." Kagome finishes for Sango. Sango nods.  
  
"This doesn't change anything. We still know where it is. When we attack early tomorrow morning there won't be all that many guards, so even if Kirara is weakened, we'll still win." Inu-yasha says confidently.  
  
"Might I make a suggestion?" Miroku asks. "Perhaps we should visit the compound, now. This would let Inu-yasha and Sango look over the compound for the attack. And Kagome and I could look for magic. We could then find an inn and rest until for a while."  
  
Sango's mouth twitches, but she nods. 'I hate having to agree with him, but.' She thinks.  
  
"Good idea, Miroku." Kagome says as she glances at Inu-yasha, "Right?"  
  
Inu-yasha eyes narrow, but he gives a slight nod and grunts out, "Feh."  
  
"Good let's go now." Miroku says as he starts to leave the campsite.  
  
"Before we eat?" Inu-yasha asks.  
  
"Would you rather have food over a campfire or a real meal in an inn?" Miroku replies.  
  
"Ok. We'll go now." Inu-yasha agrees.  
  
Kagome picks up Shippo, carefully, trying not to wake him up. 'Inu-yasha liked it when I touched him.' She thinks. She grabs his hand and holds it. Shippo, still asleep, curls around her hand.  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each and share a grin and a thought, 'the boys are going to love the food in an inn . . . '  
  
Later at the Yuki compound...  
  
The ground slowly walks around the compound in the early evening, just after nightfall.  
  
"Well? Monk? Wench?"  
  
"There is a lot of magic around the compound, Inu-yasha. I'm not sure what it all means." Kagome says.   
  
"They are definitely concealing something, Inu-yasha. There is a very good spell surrounding the compound. IT prevents me for using magic to search the compound." Miroku says. "I can see why Kirara was concerned. There could be some very powerful spells behind that concealment spell."  
  
"Fuck."  
  
"Do we change our plan?" Sango asks.  
  
Miroku purses his lips, "the more we delay the greater the chance that open warfare will erupt in the city. The greater is the chance that the shard gets misused. IF we could find out more quickly and easily, then, yes, I would like to get more information. But, if it takes a while, I just don't know."  
  
The group moves off to one side, staying in the concealment of the night, as a torch carrying messenger approaches the front gate. The gate is opened and the man let in.  
  
Inu-yasha grins, "Bitch. You said that the heir to this family was involved with a geisha?"  
  
"Yes, Inu-yasha, that was the rumor."  
  
"He, his friends and guard are staying overnight at her tea house." Inu-yasha's grin grows, "The messenger was joking about it with gate guards."  
  
"So, Inu-yasha?"  
  
"He should know about the shard, and he would know about the anti-demon defenses of the compound, right?"  
  
"As the heir to the family, I would assume so, Inu-yasha." Kagome replies.  
  
Inu-yasha turns to the group, "He's in a geisha house, getting drunk and getting laid. I'll bet we can spy on him, at least."  
  
"And, since he's drunk, he could talk about things he shouldn't" Sango says in a thoughtful voice.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The group looks at each. "We're not going to have a better chance to get more information." Miroku says.  
  
"Good. Let's go. The messenger said he was at Tamamo's house."  
  
"I know where that is." Miroku says. A slight smile on his face. "Very fancy, only the best. I had some great nights there."  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each other. Sango grimaces and shakes her head. Kagome sighs and says, "Ok, let's go."  
  
Inu-yasha looks at Kagome and says, "you're not going."  
  
"Huh? Why?"  
  
"This is a geisha tea house. I'm not going to allow another man to touch you. It's that simple." Inu-yasha declares as he crosses his arms on his chest.  
  
"The perverted monk is going, since he knows the place." Inu-yasha nods to Miroku.   
  
"Sango can come, I'd assume you don't want him to get distracted." Inu-yasha nods to Sango.  
  
"But you're not coming." Inu-yasha says to Kagome.  
  
"But. But . . . " Kagome begins. 'I suppose it's best if I don't go. I mean, if I go with Inu-yasha, he'll get upset every time a man looks at me and that'll cause him to break cover and ruin our chances to spy.' She thinks.  
  
Sango grimaces, "this is a spy mission, so I'm not coming."  
  
Miroku's eyebrows rise, "Why?"  
  
Sango grinds her teeth, "Because, you perverted monk, there is no way I could control my temper enough to prevent myself from knocking you unconscious, and that just would not do on a spying mission." Sango moves to in front of Miroku and stands nose to nose with him. "But, if this doesn't work, because you couldn't keep it in . . . " she growls to him.  
  
"Why do you think I'm coming, Sango? Somebody has to keep him from being distracted." Inu-yasha says.  
  
"Very well, Inu-yasha. I can count on you not to be distracted." Sango says as she moves away from the monk.   
  
"So, it's just you and I going, huh, Inu-yasha." Miroku says.  
  
"Yeah. You do know the way, monk?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Let's get the girls settled into an inn and then we'll go."  
  
Later . . . on the way to the tea house . . .   
  
"Inu-yasha."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You want to spy on him, correct."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"How do you think we will get invited into his party?"  
  
"..." Inu-yasha closes his mouth, "I suppose you have a plan?"  
  
"Of course, though, it's not one I expect you to agree to."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I know the owner of the tea house and she owes me a favor." He pauses and smiles, "I remember playing a joke on a friend by doing this, and she enjoyed it helping."   
  
"Go ahead, monk."  
  
"The only way to get into the room where the party is being held is be one of the geishas, Inu-yasha."  
  
They take a couple of steps as Inu-yasha thinks about that statement.  
  
Inu-yasha's eyes widen, "You're fucking joking!"  
  
"It's the only way, Inu-yasha. We'll have to dress up as a geisha."  
  
Back at the inn . . .   
  
Sango is pacing the room. Shippo is asleep in Kagome's futon with Kirara curled up next to him. Kagome is sitting down next to Shippo.  
  
"You're just going to wear out the mat, Sango." Kagome says, "The boys will be fine."  
  
Sango stops pacing and asks Kagome, "Do you really believe that?"  
  
Kagome opens her mouth and closes it a couple of times, before she softly says, "No." She shakes her head, "Miroku and Inu-yasha alone in a tea house. There will be problems."  
  
"Yes. I think we should be nearby in case they need help." Sango says, "Instead of being stuck here in this room."  
  
"Shippo and Kirara?"  
  
"Hmmm. Could you place some sort of defensive spell around the room, Kagome?"  
  
"Maybe. Miroku could do it better."  
  
"He's not here. Will it work?"  
  
"Yes, I think."  
  
"Kirara can also grab Shippo and leave the house rapidly if necessary." Kirara slowly nods in agreement.  
  
Sango grimaces, "I just wish that there was some way to prevent men from groping us. I'd like to go into the tea house."  
  
Kagome grimaces, "Yes, if we go into a tea house, we'll get groped."  
  
"And if I don't knock the idiot's head off . . . "  
  
"Inu-yasha will rip it off . . . "  
  
They nod together.  
  
Kagome blinks a couple of times and asks, "Sango, what if we were dressed as men?"  
  
"Huh? Kagome?"  
  
"I'd bet that if we dress up as men, we could enter the tea house and help the guys." Kagome says, her enthusiasm for the plan increases as she talks. "Yes, we get some men's kimono's, put on some swords and walk into a tea house, who'll guess that we are women?"  
  
"Hmmm . . . That might work, Kagome."   
  
Sango and Kagome smile at each other. "We'd better hurry. The boys will get into trouble quickly, don't you think?"  
  
"How will we find the right tea house, Kagome?"  
  
"From the boys talk, it's a very well known place, right?" Kagome asks, Sango nods. "We'll be men, right? So, all we have to do is ask directions. I mean, that's what men do, right, visit geisha tea houses?"  
  
Sango smiles, "You're right, Kagome. It'll be easy to find. Let's go."  
  
End ch8  
  
Hmmm . . . not much historical detail in this chapter. Sorry. I started to go back in and add a couple of sequences with random people for more day-to-day detail, but this chapter is so large . . . .  
  
I had planned on a larger encounter for Kagome alone, but . . . I wanted to get to the action, so . . . I altered it.  
  
Hiyoshimaru is a historical figure. I wonder if anybody will figure it out. Grin.  
  
About the Kikyo/Kagome & Kouga/Inu-yasha name bits. When reading Japanese history one thing that sticks in my mind is how often people change their names. For example at birth you will get a name. But you'll also have a childhood nickname. As a teenager you might change your name then. When you get married, you will probably change names then. If you go up (or down) in society, you might change your name as a reward (or a penalty). When you become the head of the family, your name might change again. When you retire, changing your name is also very common. This makes reading Japanese history occasionally very confusing. So . . . grin. Let's see if I can have some fun by changing names in this storyline.  
  
Oh, yes, I do have the disguises for Inu-yasha (his hair & ears), Miroku (his hand) and the girls worked out. But if anybody wants to guess how, feel free. Grin.  
  
As I've told a couple of reviewers, the upcoming geisha sequence is one of the main reasons I wanted to write this storyline. So . . . while I will get at least part one of it out in November . . . Exactly how many chapters I'll do in November I don't know. (To give an example, when in this chapter, once I got the two groups together, I thought it would only take about 2000 words to get to the final scene in this chapter . . . it was closer to 4000 words in the final version . . . ) So. the geisha sequence will probably get long and complex. (I've got Kagome/Sango, Inu-yasha/Miroku, the real geishas, The Yuki party, and other guests to work into the story, and some historical details about geishas' and their lifestyles I want to add in . . . I know what I want to write, but putting it down. Sigh. Well see.)  
  
Posting schedules. Hmm next week I'll finish the Naraku's Halloween story. Then I'll finish I-shin-po. Then we'll see. I'll get at least chapter nine of Shard out in November, but when? Shrug. Too many variables.  
  
thank you for reading  
  
jeff shelton 


	9. geisha house part 1 the boys

Shard ch9  
  
Geisha house part 1 The boys . . .  
  
This part of the story takes place in the pleasure quarter of Kyoto. Sex will be happening around the characters. It could be something as simple as voyeurism to as much as a full-blown orgy. I'm not going to get into detail. (I want to keep the pg-13 rating) But there will "things" happening with the characters . . .   
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku are walking at night down a street in Kyoto. Miroku is carrying a torch in his uncursed hand. There are few people walking around them, most of them walking in the same general direction as the boys, but they are essentially alone.  
  
"We're going to sneak into a tea house as girls and spy on someone, right?" Inu-yasha asks in a sarcastic tone.  
  
"Yes, Inu-yasha."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Well, first, I know the madam of the tea house, so we don't have to sneak into the tea house. All we have to do is sneak into the room where the party is happening."  
  
"Like that makes a huuggee difference." Inu-yasha continues in his sarcastic tone.  
  
"It means that we'll have some help making out disguises, and depending on what happens she'll probably cover for some of the mistakes we'll make."  
  
"How do you know she'll agree?"  
  
"Inu . . . Kouga, I saved her life once."  
  
Inu-yasha raises his eyebrow, then remembering that the hood makes it hard to see his face, asks, "How?"  
  
"I was entering Kyoto for the first time and I passed a bandit's hideout. I overheard that they were about to attack a rich merchant returning from a pilgrimage. I waited until the attacked was taking place and . . . "  
  
Miroku raises his hand and smiles. "She was properly grateful and we've been friends ever since. Later I found out that they had been hired by a prince who's favor she'd refused and that was his way to get revenge"  
  
"Feh. How are you going to disguise that hand of yours? You've been going on that it makes you noticeable."  
  
"Simple. I'll wrap it in a bandage and say I burnt myself cooking." Miroku says in a very confident tone.  
  
"Sounds like you've done that before." Inu-yasha observes.  
  
Miroku swallows, "There are times when it is necessary to be someone you are not."  
  
Inu-yasha raises his eyebrows.  
  
"Don't ask, unless you're prepared to answer some questions of mine." Miroku says in a low voice.  
  
Inu-yasha purses his lips, coughs, and says, "What about me?"  
  
"Your hair is easy. Some black dye will take care of it."  
  
"Feh. I should warn you that dye doesn't work well on my hair."  
  
Miroku raises an eyebrow. 'And when did he learn about that?' he thinks.  
  
"Does it work at all?"  
  
Inu-yasha shrugs, "After a few hours it just flakes off."  
  
"But, for a couple of hours, it does work."  
  
Inu-yasha nods.  
  
"Good enough. We're not going to be in there all that long. Now, your ears are also easy."  
  
Inu-yasha's ears twitch, "if you think I'm flattening my ears for a couple of hours, I'll rip your's off first."  
  
"No, Inu-yasha. The girls at tea houses tend to have large, complex hair arraignments. They can arrange your hair, so it covers your ears."  
  
Inu-yasha purses his lips, and he nods. "Good enough."  
  
"Inu-yasha, there are a couple of things, I'm not sure about."  
  
"Feh, tell me."  
  
"Well . . . Inu-yasha, girls in a tea house are supposed to be quiet, polite, and when they speak, they are articulate speakers who do not curse."  
  
"Fuck you, monk."  
  
"Inu-yasha . . . "  
  
"I'm not fucking stupid, monk. I know if I open my fucking mouth, I'll ruin this fucking plan." Inu-yasha says with a challenging glare in his eyes.  
  
Miroku sighs. "Very well, Inu-yasha. I'll trust you." He sighs again, "there is one more thing, though."  
  
"What."  
  
"I cannot decide how to disguise your eyes."  
  
Inu-yasha's hands twitch as they reach toward his face. "Yeah. Do you have any ideas?"  
  
"I've got a couple of choices but." Miroku shakes his head. "I don't really like either one."  
  
"Feh. Tell me."  
  
"Ok, the first choice is to put a blindfold around head and say that you're blind."  
  
"Not good. Whoever heard of a blind whore."  
  
"Geishas' aren't whores."  
  
"No, they're more expensive."  
  
"Sigh, can we get back to what I was going to say."  
  
"Feh."  
  
"Inu-yasha, there is, or at least was the last time I was in Kyoto, a blind geisha. Her hands are said to be the most gentle in the city. A massage by her is said to be the best in the city. And she is very successful."  
  
"Hmmm"  
  
"And since she's successful it would be normal for a couple of other blind girls to get training."  
  
"That might work."  
  
"Yes, but it depends on you pretending you are blind."  
  
"I can do it."  
  
"And pretend to be quiet and polite at the same time?"  
  
"Feh. What's the other?"  
  
Miroku shrugs. "There are a few, very few, girls with demonic blood in them that are geishas. We just say that your, say, grandmother, was raped by a demon, and your eyes are part of your heritage."  
  
Inu-yasha purses his lips. "I don't really like either one, myself."  
  
Miroku nods. "We're approaching the entrance to the quarter." He points to a brightly lit street ahead of them. "Getting in will not be a problem. Just remember, we'll have to change out of the girls clothes before we try to leave."  
  
"That's stupid, monk. I have no intention of staying in girls clothing longer than necessary."  
  
"Perhaps, Inu-yasha. I'm just trying to anticipate what might go wrong."  
  
The pleasure quarter of Kyoto is a large walled compound. A couple of the large city blocks are walled off. Each entrance is guarded. There are about a dozen of so guards standing around asking questions and ogling girls.  
  
"Names." One of the guards asks in a very bored tone.  
  
"Daichi"  
  
"Kajiya"  
  
"Whom do you work for?"  
  
"Ronin." Inu-yasha says. "Looking for work."  
  
The guard's eyebrow's raise at the old man, Inu-yasha is pretending to be, but he doesn't ask any questions. 'One old man isn't going to cause any problems, if he wants to pretend he's a young man. So what.' He grins, 'Maybe, since he's old, he wishes to die between the petals of a young flower.'  
  
"The shrine to Tenjin in Osaka." Miroku says.  
  
"Going into the quarter for some tea?" the guard asks.  
  
Miroku smiles, "Of course, Why else would one go inside the quarter? The tea houses of Kyoto are known throughout Japan."  
  
"I'm not one of the girls, so don't try your stupid lines on me." The guard growls out, but waves them into the quarter.  
  
Most of Kyoto, at night, is lighted by paper lanterns. There aren't many of them, so many of the streets of Kyoto are dark and dangerous places. Inside the pleasure quarter of Kyoto, though, that is a very different story. There are a multitude of lanterns shining brightly.  
  
Most of Kyoto, at night, is deserted. There are few people walking around at night, and those that are, move from place to place in a furtive manner, afraid that every dark shadow might conceal a robber, or perhaps a ghost or demon. Inside the pleasure quarter of Kyoto, thought, is crowded.  
  
Men, some still in armor, but most in fine silken kimonos, some with women companions, walk the street. Groups of armed men stroll down the streets, with people moving away, so as not to interfere with them, looking for a tea house that will serve them. Groups of women, dressed in fine kimonos paraded down the streets, attracting men to the tea house they belong to.  
  
Most of Kyoto, at night, is a quiet town, with perhaps only a few random sounds to disturb the silence. Inside the pleasure quarter of Kyoto, the sounds of gaiety abound. The sounds of the conversions, the sounds of the wooden sandals as they hit the ground form the backdrop, but above those sounds are the sounds of music. Music flows from many of the tea houses, as the girls inside entertain the men.  
  
Inu-yasha's drab kimono and hooded cloak and Miroku's simple monkish clothes are very much out of place amid the fine clothes being shown on the streets.  
  
'Fuck. Just like on Kagome's side of the well. All the noise, lights, and smells.' Inu-yasha thinks.  
  
Inu-yasha's nose is overloaded with the smell of all the various perfumes being worn. All the women have some sort of perfume on, and many of the men also have some sort of perfume or the smell of incense around them. Inu- yasha sneezes.  
  
Miroku raises his eyebrow at the sound. "It's nothing monk."  
  
'I'm just not going to be able to use my senses as I should be able to. Shit. That means, I can be surprised.' Inu-yasha grimaces, but that is hidden by his hooded cloak.  
  
Miroku looks around, "Hmmm. I cannot, at first thought, remember a time when we've been around so many people." He swallows, "Your senses?"  
  
"Are just fucking fine, perverted monk." Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Too fine?"  
  
"Feh."  
  
Miroku sighs, "Kouga, given all this," Miroku waves at the crowd, "I don't expect your senses to work like they would in the middle of an empty forest." He raises his eyebrow again at Inu-yasha.  
  
Inu-yasha coughs, and doesn't meet his eyes. Miroku nods.  
  
"Inu . . . Kouga." Miroku whispers as he pulls Inu-yasha to one side. This lets a richly dressed man, with swords, walks past the two without having to break strides.  
  
Miroku can see Inu-yasha's jaw move as he grinds his teeth together. "Remember, Kouga, you're an old peasant man, you have to get out the way."  
  
Inu-yasha's lips curl in an ugly grin. "One of these days . . . "  
  
"Just not tonight."  
  
Inu-yasha nods.  
  
Miroku nods. He points to the right. "The house we're looking for is in that direction. Let's go."  
  
Tamamo's house, when the boys reach it, looks like many of the others they pasted on the way. It is a one story house with thin walls. The room facing the street doesn't have any walls. They have been removed to show the first room of the house. Only some thin mosquito nets enclose the room.  
  
The boys enter the house and are greeted by a beautiful young woman. Miroku gives her his real name and asks to speak to the madam of the house. The young woman directs them to sit at a table next the left-hand wall.  
  
The walls are beautifully painted seascapes. The low table and the visible furnishings are of high quality. This is not a cheap place. (Although, next to it, is a similar larger house that is cheaper and large numbers of men are sitting or standing. The guards of the men in the rich house wait in the cheaper house.)  
  
"This humble girl will return with some tea for such important gentlemen and I will deliver the message the honorable monk has given me." She mumbles as she bows before she leaves.  
  
Other men are sitting at the few, less than a half-dozen, tables in the first room. Some of them have tea, but a couple tables have saki bottles on them. All the other men in the room are dressed in very rich kimonos.  
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku can feel the disgust that they have that a peasant and a poor monk were invited to sit down. "What is the city coming to, when scum like that is allowed to even enter this house?" inu-yasha and Miroku can hear one of the men say, he wasn't even trying to keep his voice down.  
  
Inu-yasha tenses, but does nothing else.  
  
"Yes, and even from here I can see the rust on that piece of shit sword that old man is carrying." Another of the men says, again without concern whither or not Inu-yasha and Miroku can hear him.  
  
This time, Miroku's hand tightly griping Inu-yasha's arm and a hissing, "Stop" is all that prevents Inu-yasha from charging the man.  
  
The young woman returns quickly, with tea, "Madam is busy right now, but, when she's finished she'll see you, honorable monk."  
  
Miroku nods, sips his tea, "As good as I remember it, my compliments." He says as he salutes with the cup of tea. "We'll wait."  
  
'Now that we've stopped. Let's see what I can hear and smell.' Inu-yasha thinks as he concentrates on his senses.  
  
Beneath the odor of the perfumes, his nose detects another odor. The odor of humans and the musks they emit when rutting. He wrinkles his nose. 'Shit, I knew I smell it, but.' He concentrates on his body, calming it. 'All the women and men in the building, and the surrounding buildings . . . I must maintain control.'  
  
He thinks. He hides the grimace as he thinks, 'everybody emits special odors when they want it, most of the time, it's too light for humans to smell it. I can, though. Which, means, it hits me harder than it does a normal human.' He covers a sneeze with his fist. 'I'm going to have to ignore my nose tonight.'  
  
Inu-yasha trains his ears to the back wall. Through it, he can hear the sound of music, laughter, people talking and having a good time. He can also hear the grunts and groans of couples. He blushes.  
  
Miroku, seeing the blush, smiles and directs his attention to the street, where beautiful women are parading themselves.  
  
Inu-yasha redirects his ears behind him, through the thin wall, he hears a couple, perhaps three people talking. "Before we finalize this, I want to make sure that you two understand what is going to happen." A woman's voice says. Even through the wall, Inu- yasha's back shivers and he has to adjust his position on the floor, her voice is so alluring.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am." A male voice, his voice crackling from adolescence, says. "My young sister, here, will stay here and be taught the arts of a geisha."  
  
"Yes, to wear the fancy clothes." A small female child's voice says. She sounds very happy. "To eat good food."  
  
"Yes, all those and more." The woman says. "I will pay you 100 ryo in silver for her."  
  
"And brother, you can tell father and mother, that I will send them at least half of all the money I make." The girl says.  
  
"You are sure you want this, Kimi?" The boy says.  
  
"Yes, big brother. I know the new taxes are too high. Only by doing this can I help the family." The girl says. "I've been brought up, right. So, for the good of the family, I must be sold to the tea house." A pause. "I promise not to run away, or disobey any of your orders, Ma'am."  
  
"That's good, dear. Obeying me is the first and most important rule of the house." The woman says. "Then we are agreed?"  
  
"Yes" The girl child says with excitement in her voice. She's obviously looking forward to living in the tea house.  
  
"Yes. I've been ordered by my father to sell my . . . my sister to a tea house. That's want I'm going to do." The boy says, his voice breaking either with emotion or simply does to his young age.  
  
"Sign, or place your mark here." The woman says.  
  
"Good . . . it's done." The woman says. "If you wish, you can stay here tonight, and I'll have one of the girls visit you."  
  
"Huh. Ummm . . . free?" a pause, "I accept." The boy says.  
  
"Please leave us. Akemi will see to you." The noise of coins is heard by Inu-yasha. "Here is the money."  
  
He hears the sounds of the sliding door open and close.  
  
"Now your new name is Kin."  
  
"Yes, my new name is Kin."  
  
"Good, girl. Mariko will see to you tonight. In the morning we'll start your training."  
  
"Yes!" the girl says excitedly. "I want to learn how to read and write, learn how to make music, recite poetry and more!"  
  
With amusement in her voice the older woman says, "You will learn that and more, child. But, everything begins with a first step and yours begins tomorrow morning." A pause. "Just follow Mariko here and obey her, as you will obey me."  
  
The sound of a sliding door again is heard by Inu-yasha.  
  
"Who's next?"  
  
"The monk Miroku and a friend are outside, Ma'am."  
  
"Miroku . . . One of his hands is covered?"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am. His friend is an older man with a hood over his head, but his eyes . . . they gleam."  
  
"Hmmmm....I see . . . Bring them in." The older woman orders.  
  
"Miroku." Inu-yasha hisses. A pause. "Fuck it, Miroku stop ogling the girls."  
  
Miroku starts. His attention was occupied by a group of geishas' parading on the street outside.  
  
"I was not ogling girls."  
  
"Feh."  
  
"Those are beautiful women. I was ogling, not girls." Miroku says.  
  
"Feh." A pause. "We're about to be summoned to the mistress of the house."  
  
"Good." Miroku's eyes narrow. "Your hearing?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Miroku nods. "That will come in useful tonight, I'm sure."  
  
The young woman that served them tea comes over and asks them to follow her.  
  
As the two boys pass through the doorway at the back of the room, which leads into the rest of the house, Inu-yasha groans. "Are you feeling well, old sir?" The young woman asks.  
  
Miroku grabs Inu-yasha's arm and catches him as he stumbles. "He's just old." Miroku quickly says, trying to cover for Inu-yasha.  
  
"Fuck that hurts . . . " Inu-yasha mumbles.  
  
As Miroku turned to catch Inu-yasha, his eyes catch sight of a scroll on the doorjamb, they just pasted through. It is a very powerful anti-demon spell. Any full blooded demon would have been prevented from entering the inner house. Only because Inu-yasha is a half-demon was he able to enter.  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
"Like something just ripped me in half, monk." Inu-yasha growls, "It's passing." He stands up and shakes Miroku off. "I'm fine."  
  
Miroku lets go, and turns the young woman and says, "lead on, he is fine now, these spells come and go."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Inu-yasha makes a fist inside the sleeve of his robe. 'I feel weak, like the night of the new moon. Fuck.' He thinks.  
  
"What the fuck just happened?" he whispers to Miroku.  
  
"There is a powerful scroll on the doorway we passed through."  
  
"Feh."  
  
Walking down the corridor, the boys realize that most of the house is behind the open first room. That is just a waiting area. The real house is spread out behind it and it occupies several acres of land. The house remains one story. It is a series of large rooms connected by open walkways. The moveable rice paper walls allow the number of rooms and size of the rooms to be changed at will. All the walls are painted, most with eye pleasing seascapes.  
  
The Inu-yasha and Miroku, after a couple of turns in the corridor, are lead through a doorway and into a room.  
  
The room is brightly lit. The walls of the room are painted. The scenes on the walls are from the Kama Sutra. A handsome young man and beautiful young woman are enjoying themselves. The walls were painted by a master artist.  
  
On the floor, sited on some pillows is a very beautiful young woman in her late twenties to early thirties. Long, floor length black hair frames a wide face. Her face is covered in white make-up with black, hands drawn eyebrows a couple of inches above the eyes. (Her real eyebrows have been removed.)  
  
She raises a fan to cover her mouth, the fan is also decorated in sexually motifs, and says, "Please sit." Her other hand waves toward a couple of silken pillows on the floor in front of her.  
  
"Tamamo. It's been a long time." Miroku says as he sits down.  
  
"Yes, it has, my perverted friend." She says, still covering her mouth with that fan, her painted eyebrows raise. "I had thought you were not going to return to Kyoto?"  
  
"I am here only for a few days."  
  
"I see." A pause. "And your companion."  
  
"A friend of mine." A pause. "Tamamo, I must ask a favor of you."  
  
Those eyebrows raise. "So."  
  
"Before I do, I would like to ask a question or two?"  
  
"Feel free, I will answer as I can."  
  
"The quarter seems very busy, is there a reason?"  
  
"You have been in the wilderness too long, my friend." She says with amusement in her voice.  
  
Her voice changes to a normal tone and she continues, "All the houses in the city are gathering soldiers. 5,000 arrived yesterday. Another 10,000 will arrive within the week. More are expected after that. They have to be entertained."  
  
Miroku nods. "I see. I have been out of town." He mumbles.  
  
She smiles, "While some of the samurai, no doubt, would be happy with boys or other samurai, most of the samurai wants female company and entertainment." A pause. She smiles, "I'm sure you've used the line about dying tomorrow in battle and before that you want one last night of pleasure?"  
  
Miroku coughs, "I have never used that line."  
  
With a smile that could have come off the Mona Lisa, she continues, "So, my house, and all the houses in the city are being stressed to make sure that there are enough girls to go around."  
  
She sighs and shivers, delicately. "I thank the gods each day that my house is one of the better houses. In some of the lower class houses, they are using up girls on a regular basis." She shakes her head. "Lying on a futon and having to service a half-dozen men or more every hour is killing them."  
  
"You have been continuing to make donations to the temples to help the girls?" Miroku asks gently.  
  
"Of course, but with all the new soldiers in town, nothing I can do will improve the lot of the girls in the poorer houses."  
  
Miroku clears his throat, but before he says anything . . .  
  
'Shit, they're going to talk in circles and it'll take forever. And before anything will happen she's going to have to know what I am.' Inu-yasha thinks.  
  
"Fuck this." Inu-yasha interrupts.  
  
Miroku and Tamamo look at him. Miroku groans and he covers his face.  
  
He pulls down his hood and says, "What the monk is trying to ask is we need to spy on someone here. And we need to dress up as," His lips curl in disgust, "girls to do it. Will you help or do I do this the old-fashioned way?" His hand reaches for his sword hilt.  
  
Tamamo says, "Miroku, I see that the politeness of your friends has decreased over the years."  
  
Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Please Tamamo, forgive him. His upbringing."  
  
Inu-yasha interrupts, "I was raised by myself in the wildness. Fuck politeness. It's boring. Will you help us?"  
  
Tamamo's eyebrows raise, "Son of the great white demon dog, Inu-yasha, please control yourself. If you are going to become a woman tonight, you must learn patience."  
  
Inu-yasha closes his open jaw and whispers, "How did you know?"  
  
"Your hair and eye color, son of the great white demon dog, are well known. Rumors of the jewel of the four souls have reached me and I'm aware of Miroku and your parts in at least some of them."  
  
Both boys look at her, surprised.  
  
In a calm voice she gently chides, "Miroku, I'm surprised. You know I hear everything."  
  
Miroku nods. "I just wasn't expecting you to be so, so blunt about it." He says. 'Yes, as the madam of one of the most popular tea houses in Kyoto, everyone comes here. Between the saki and pillow talk with the girls, Tamamo hears everything.'  
  
She nods to Inu-yasha, "Since your friend, wishes to be blunt, I will accommodate him. Rumors of the shards are common. Everyone in my house has been rumored to possess at least one. I've had many offers to share the pillow talk of the girls. Most houses have offered very handsome payments, even for the smallest of rumors."  
  
Inu-yasha growls, "I don't have any money. All I can offer is . . . "  
  
Miroku's hand covers Inu-yasha mouth. "Don't say another word. You've already messed this up enough." He removes his head and a small scroll sealing Inu-yasha's mouth is revealed. Inu-yasha reaches up to rip it off, only to pull back his hand as the scroll stings him when he touches it.  
  
"Tamamo, I cannot offer much money, or much of anything. I was hoping our prior friendship would sway you." Miroku says in a humble tone.  
  
Tamamo waves her fan. "I will allow you and your friend to enter my house and disguise yourselves as my girls."  
  
Miroku swallows, "as much as I would like to believe that this is being offered freely, I must ask."  
  
"Is there a condition?" she finishes for him.  
  
Miroku nods.  
  
"Of course. I will expect a favor for a favor." She nods to both of them.  
  
Inu-yasha grabs Miroku's hand.  
  
"Inu-yasha!" Miroku says in surprise. He tries to remove his hand from Inu- yasha's grasp, but Inu-yasha is too strong. Inu-yasha uses Miroku's hand to rub off the scroll across his lips.  
  
"What sort of favor, woman?" Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"I don't know, son of the great white demon dog. It will be a favor without conditions."  
  
"Why?" Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Should you survive the struggle for the jewel, Inu-yasha, I would expect great things from you. Having you owe me a favor, could be a very powerful thing in the future." She nods her head at Miroku, "before your friend left the city, he was considered to have a great future as well." She smiles, "So, I will take the risk that tonight my house will be disrupted, but in the future, you two will owe me a favor." The smile grows.  
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku look at each other. Miroku shrugs, and they both slowly nod, accepting the condition.  
  
She claps her hands and a couple of girls enter the room. "Take them to bath area. They are to be bathed and led to my personal quarters. Tell Yuki and Sachiko that they are to bath and groom them." She smiles, "They are to be made into beautiful women."  
  
Inu-yasha growls, "Before I do that, I want to know how will you disguise my eyes?"  
  
"Oh those. Hmmm . . . I do know a couple of small spells that change colors. One is designed to change white hair to black. An older geisha uses it to hold back the demands of time. It might work on your eyes as well."  
  
She flips her fan closed, mumbles a sutra, and opens the fan. The colors on the fan have all been turned black, instead of the painting that was on it. "A spell to change colors, a simple parlor trick, for amusement. It'll work if needed." She slips the fan closed and opens it again. It has returned to normal.  
  
"Now, please follow the girls." She says as she dismissing them.  
  
End chapter 9.  
  
Sighs . . . I had planned on more for this chapter, but . . . this is a good enough break point. Ch 10 will be the girls . . .  
  
Disguises and the boys . . . They had to have had adventures before they met. Those lines refer to them. Whither are not I ever expand on them, shrug. Given enough time, yes, but that's long time in the future.  
  
The selling of children to tea houses . . . it happened. Technically the deal was that girl would work for the tea house for a period of time and in exchange the tea house would educate the girl, housing, feeding and clothing the girl. If her duties included sex . . . well that was never spelled out. The girls were supposed to send home some money to their parents as well. Now . . . The girl in this chapter reacted like some of the girls in the stories. Chances were that at least some of the girls didn't like it and had to be forced, but . . . you don't hear about it.  
  
Geisha's, especially the best ones, were probably the best educated persons in Japan at this time. They had to know poetry (and be able to make poems up on the spur of the moment), music, dance. They had to be able to carry on conversations about any subject.  
  
The power of the tea house madams . . . At times they were very powerful people in Kyoto. As indicated they knew a lot about the city and you didn't want to make them mad at you. (They could use their "personal" connections around town to ruin most houses.)  
  
The lower class girls (whores to be blunt) things like what was mentioned in the story happened. The troops must be entertained. If they are not keep happy . . . well . . . the troops will find ways to make themselves happy. Riots, rapes, rampages . . . Or just a revolt to put in place a leader that will do things to make them happy.  
  
And before TV, radio, etc. That basically means saki and women, especially for the common soldiers.  
  
Thank you for reading jeff shelton 


	10. geisha house part 2 the girls

Chapter 10 The Geisha house part 2 the girls....  
  
Please note: they are in a geisha teahouse. And before 1870 . . . the Japanese attitudes toward sex were very different from today's. While, I'm not going to go into great detail . . . Sex, nudity, and intercourse will be occurring in this chapter. (The characters may or may not be directly involved, but it will be happening around them . . . )  
  
Also: Kagome will refer back to events that began in my story "when the boys are away."  
  
From chapter 8  
  
Back at the inn . . .  
  
Kagome blinks a couple of times and asks, "Sango, what if we were dressed as men?"  
  
"Huh? Kagome?"  
  
"I'd bet that if we dress up as men, we could enter the tea house and help the guys." Kagome says, her enthusiasm for the plan increases as she talks. "Yes, we get some men's kimono's, put on some swords and walk into a tea house, who'll guess that we are women?"  
  
"Hmmm . . . That might work, Kagome."  
  
Sango and Kagome smile at each other. "We'd better hurry. The boys will get into trouble quickly, don't you think?"  
  
"How will we find the right tea house, Kagome?"  
  
"From the boys talk, it's a very well known place, right?" Kagome asks, Sango nods. "We'll be men, right? So, all we have to do is ask directions. I mean, that's what men do, right, visit geisha tea houses?"  
  
Sango smiles, "You're right, Kagome. It'll be easy to find. Let's go."  
  
"Give me a few minutes with some of the women, and I'll see about buying some men's clothes." Kagome says.  
  
Sango nods. "Go ahead, Kagome." Sango touches her sword hilt. "I'll wander over to a couple of the nearby alleys. Sooner or later, I'll come across a couple of thieves. You'll need a sword for your disguise."  
  
"Don't kill them."  
  
"I won't, Kagome."  
  
Kagome nods. "Good luck."  
  
A few minutes later . . .  
  
"Everything go all right?" Sango asks when she renters the room. She is carrying a couple of swords and a few other weapons.  
  
"Yes. You?"  
  
"There are a couple of muggers that will wake up nude."  
  
"Good."  
  
Kagome hands Sango a man's kimono. "This should fit you."  
  
Sango nods and they dress in the new clothes Kagome bought.  
  
"Your breasts are still too large, Kagome. I'm going to have to wrap them down."  
  
Kagome sighs, "go ahead, Sango. If you can do it. I can."  
  
"What do we call each other?" Kagome asks as she dresses.  
  
"Hmmmm . . . Call me Hajake Toorima." Sango says.  
  
"OK . . . Call me Hojo Donsai." Kagome says.  
  
"Hojo, hmmm. Why that name."  
  
Kagome blushes. "Well . . . the Hojo family is a large and powerful family. I thought I could pretend to be a member of the family. The Yuki family would probably like to have a Hojo working for them."  
  
"So, you want us to try to get into the party by pretending to be ronin looking for work?"  
  
"Yes. I think that'll work." "That is similar to what I was thinking." Sango says. "It should work."  
  
Sango thinks, 'I had been thinking I would be from the samurai family and Kagome would be my servant, but she is better with people than I am. And we'll need her people skills more than we'll need my combat skills, I think.'  
  
Sango adjusts Kagome's sword. "Hmm... Its times like these that I'd wish you let me teach you how to use a sword."  
  
"No, Sango. I trust you, Inu-yasha and Miroku to protect me."  
  
"Ok. Hmmm . . . But . . . This sword is not really appropriate for someone from a powerful family. So, we need an explanation for that. You will be asked about it." Sango says firmly.  
  
Kagome shakes her head. "You'll probably be able to come up with something, Sango. You know how things work here better than I do."  
  
A pause while Sango thinks. "Let's try this, Kagome. You are a younger son of a branch of the Hojo family. But . . . Your father wants you to prove to him that you are worthy. So, he has sent you out into the world to get some experience."  
  
"Ok. I can follow that."  
  
"And, he's holding your true sword and bow until that time. So, you have to make do with a low quality sword and a peasant bow."  
  
"And you?"  
  
"I'm a loyal follower that has chosen to accompany you."  
  
"A spy for my father, in other words." Kagome grins.  
  
Sango grins back. "I'm your long time friend, not a spy."  
  
Kagome sighs, "Although, why can't you just be a friend I meet in my travels. I don't like the idea that you are my servant."  
  
Sango shakes her head. "No, we need to be together and the servant/master bond is stronger than a couple of friends."  
  
'Since, I am pretending to be a simple samurai.' Sango thinks. 'I'll have to leave this here.' She leaves her boomerang in the room.  
  
"Now, Kagome bring your bow."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"In order to get hired, they are going to demand a demonstration of our skills. And the bow is your best weapon."  
  
Kagome swallows and nods.  
  
'I wish I knew how to tell her that she's a very good archer. Inu-yasha is always insulting her skills. Though, I wonder if he is doing that as a motivation for her to improve, and not simply comparing her to Kikyo as she thinks.' Sango thinks and she sighs.  
  
Sango puts Kagome's hair into a ponytail like hers.  
  
Sango and Kagome are dressed in simple men's clothing. Sango is wearing her sword. Kagome is wearing her bow, quiver and her new sword.  
  
Kagome places a magical shield around the room. The girls leave the room and start toward the pleasure quarter.  
  
The entrance to the pleasure quarter.  
  
"Names?" The bored guard asks.  
  
"Hojo Donsai." Kagome (Hojo) says in a low rough voice. 'I've got to remember to speak like this, tonight.' She thinks.  
  
"Hajake Toorima" Sango (Hajake) says, in deeper than normal voice. 'I must remember to speak in a deep voice, tonight.' She thinks.  
  
The guard looks Kagome up and down, suspiciously. The Hojo name and the poor appearance of the clothes do not go together. She flushes, as she realizing the problem.  
  
She licks her lips, 'bluff' she thinks. She puts her hand on her sword hilt. "Is there a problem?" She puts her best Inu-yasha expression on her face.  
  
Sango reaches into a pocket and pulls out a couple of coins. She starts to twirl them between her fingers. Her other hand is on her sword hilt.  
  
The guard's eyes narrow as he flicks from person to person standing in front of him.  
  
"Who do you work for?" "I am his follower." Sango says as she nods to Kagome.  
  
"And you?"  
  
"Ronin."  
  
The guard pauses, shakes his head. He motions for them to enter the quarter. Kagome starts to bow to him, until Sango bumps her. Sango subtly shakes her head, no.  
  
As they pass the guard, Sango "accidently" leaves the coins in the guard's hand, which, by coincidence, is palm up.  
  
"Do you know the directions to the house of Tamamo?" Sango asks. Another coin has appeared in her off hand.  
  
The guard gives them directions to the house. The two girls pretending to be boys leave the area of the gate. The guards are watching as Sango and Kagome whisper to each other and point out features in the pleasure quarter.  
  
"Want to bet that he'll be killed when they realize he's faking that name?" Another guard asks the group of guards at the gate.  
  
"I'll take that bet." Another says.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"That Hojo name is fake, but his friend is real. I could tell. IF there is a fight . . . it'll be a big one, and Hajake will win."  
  
After a short pause, another guard says, "Actually, I wonder why they want to go to Tamamo's house in the first place. The way they're acting, I'd expected them to go to a house that specialized in male friendships, not a traditional house."  
  
"Yeah. They do seem to be close." One of the guards says, but new people are entering the gate and the conversation at the gate shifts to other things.  
  
Sango whispers to Kagome, "Think, Kagome, would Inu-yasha bow to those guards?"  
  
Kagome whispers back, "NO. He won't. I was just acting normally, not like him."  
  
"Yes, Acting like Inu-yasha isn't something I'd normally recommend. But, tonight, it'll be useful." Kagome nods. "Yes." She points to a couple of the cheaper houses they are walking by. The second floor, or in some cases a ground floor window, in most of these houses, have a seminude woman reclining in the window. She is calling out to men walking by trying to get them into the house.  
  
"Please kind sirs. There are pleasures for all inside!" One of the women call out to them.  
  
Kagome blushes. "You know, Sango. This might not have the best idea I ever had."  
  
"Yes. I knew that, Kagome. But, the boys will need our help before the night is over, I'm sure." Sango tries not to look at the women trying to get them into a nearby house.  
  
'Boy lovers.' The girl in the window thinks as they ignore her.  
  
"And those guards know that you are lying about your name." Sango whispers.  
  
"That's fine, Sango, as long as they believe that where're men, that's all that's needed." Kagome replies. She shakes her head, and thinks, 'sighs . . . Telling all those lies at school and with my friends have made me a better liar than I would ever have liked to have been.'  
  
AT the Tamamo house.  
  
"Yes, kind sirs. How kind this poor girl help you?" the girl at the entrance asks when they enter.  
  
"We are looking for the Yuki party." Kagome  
  
"And whom should I announce is here?"  
  
"Hojo Donsai and Hajake Toorima" Kagome nods to Sango as she says the second name.  
  
"Please wait here." The girl says. She bows and retreats into the building. Kagome and Sango are left to stand around in a small room near the entrance. They are out of sight of the street, and the main common room.  
  
After a couple of minutes, the girl returns. An older man is following her. He is a large man, obviously a samurai, with a barrel shaped body. He is forty to fifty years old. He is wearing a fancy kimono, with two swords hanging at his waist. He has a scar on the right-side of his face, along his jawbone.  
  
"Which one of you is Hojo Donsai?" He says.  
  
"I am, sir." Kagome says, her voice shakes a bit as she talks. The man is staring at her. His black eyes are boring into her, and she thinks, 'I've seen that look before in Sesshomaru's eyes. He is a stone cold killer.'  
  
"You are not a Hojo." He declares at a quick glance up and down Kagome's body.  
  
"I am, sir. My father has ordered me to dress in peasants' clothes until I satisfy him." Kagome says. She is, with difficultly, keeping eye contact as she speaks.  
  
"Your father's name is?" "Sir, I am sorry, but until I prove myself worthy, I don't feel that it is possible to speak it." Kagome says as she stares at him.  
  
His eyes flick to Sango. "And your companion?"  
  
"A boyhood friend."  
  
Sango bows her head, "I must protest that. I am merely a servant of his father's that has chosen to follow my master's son."  
  
"Your reason for interrupting tonight?"  
  
"There are rumors of war floating around Kyoto. I wish to join with a family, so I can, in the coming war, earn the reputation my father wishes."  
  
A pause. "Look at me." He orders Sango.  
  
Sango looks at him, catching his eyes and holding them. A pause as the man and Sango stare at each other. He breaks eye contact and says, "Follow me."  
  
They leave the Tamamo and enter the cheaper house next door.  
  
Kagome and Sango whisper to each other.  
  
"Well, how was that?"  
  
"He didn't reject us out of hand."  
  
"Where is taking us?"  
  
"Probably where there are some common soldiers, so we can prove ourselves to him."  
  
The older samurai directs them into a room. Even from outside the room, the girls can hear the music, the laughter and yells coming from the room. The typical sounds of a group of obviously drunken men having a good time.  
  
They enter the room and both girls come to halt. The scene inside shocks them into standing still. The room, itself, doesn't. It is a simple room with only some large paper lanterns for light as the permanent part of the room. The walls are painted with a gentle landscape motif. It is the men and women occupying the room that causes them to come to a standstill.  
  
Off to one side of the room is a couple of girls with some musical instruments, playing a traditional song, which would be expected.  
  
There are over a dozen men in the room. Most of them sitting around in a large circle. Pitchers of saki and plates of food sit next to them. Mixed in between the men is about six or seven women. Most of the women are sitting on either a man's lap or close to a man. The kimonos of the women are very loose and the girls can see that the men have their hands under the women's clothes. The women are giggling and shyly protesting the groping, but not stopping it.  
  
But that is not what caused Kagome and Sango to stop. What's happening in the center of the room is causing that.  
  
In the center of the circle is a man and a woman. And while they both have most of their clothes on, it's very obvious what the man is doing. He is above the woman and he is moving his hips up and down over her.  
  
His friends are yelling out to him. "Faster! You slow poke!" "Yeah! Hurry up! It's my turn next!" "I've got a bigger one!" the man, who yells this, shifts his clothes at grasps himself, showing everyone in the room exactly what he means.  
  
The older samurai, brushes aside Kagome and Sango and enters the room.  
  
"Hey! Guys!" one of the men sitting on the floor yells and points to the older man. The men in the room stand up and bow to him. Even the man that was on top of the woman does it.  
  
"Having a good time, I see." The older samurai says in a low voice.  
  
"Lord Yuki Shiba, sir." One of the men says, "We didn't expect to leave until late tonight, and it's still early in the evening."  
  
He nods. "Something has come up." He points to Kagome and Sango. "These two wish to join the Yuki family. It'll be up to you to determine that."  
  
Kagome, still with a red face, moves off to his right side and nods her head. Sango, also with a red face, moves with Kagome and nods, as well, but her hand is on her sword hilt.  
  
The men in the room start to talk to each other. "Why in the hell would a man be blushing?" "Small, aren't they." "Yeah, but, a little bit of blood to make the evening exciting." "This will be easy." "They sure seem to like each other, don't they."  
  
The girls in the room are busy moving the saki and food to the edges on the room. They are, also, wiping up the floor in the middle of the room, and generally quickly cleaning the room.  
  
Kagome and Sango whisper to each other. "Kagome, listen, when it comes to a challenge, let me go first." "Yes. No problem, Sango."  
  
The older Samurai, after inspecting the room, points to Kagome. "Ok, you first."  
  
Sango, quickly stepping in front of Kagome, says, "Sir. I am his servant and I will accept any challenge for him."  
  
He raises his eyebrow, "very well, but the challenge will be more difficult because of your statement."  
  
"So be it." Sango says.  
  
She steps into the center of the room. Her feet swish along the floor, making sure of her footing. She goes into a very relaxed stance, with her hand only lightly resting on her sword hilt. "And who shall I fight?"  
  
After a small conference the two biggest men approach Sango.  
  
She puts a bored expression on her face. "That's it?"  
  
"Very well, Hotaka, join them." The older samurai says. A third man joins the other two.  
  
"Ready?" one of the men growls.  
  
She shrugs her shoulders. "Always."  
  
They spread out, so all three can attack at the same time.  
  
A pause . . .  
  
They draw their swords and attack Sango.  
  
Their friends laugh and taunt Sango, and yell encouragement at their friends.  
  
Steel rings on steel as Sango parries all three swords. She moves and defends herself. The men try to move to attack her, but she's too fast for them.  
  
The room goes quiet . . . Sango's display of swordsmanship is not something you see every day.  
  
THUD!  
  
One of the men flies through the paper wall, unconscious. He takes with him another man that did not duck in time. Sango's off hand hit him in the jaw. She smiles, a smile similar to the one that has graced Inu-yasha's face many of times.  
  
The men in the room begin to whisper among themselves. "He's good." "Yeah, very good."  
  
Sango continues to parry the remaining to men. Their attacks never come close to her. She, on the other hand, is slowly disrobing them. Each attack of hers is hitting their clothes, slowing cutting them into shreds. The two men's attacks are getting more and more desperate. They know that they are overmatched . . .  
  
"Finish this." The older samurai orders.  
  
Sango nods. She moves . . . and both men are down, unconscious. Sango's sword hilt hits both men on the head. In her off hand she grabs the men's swords before they hit the ground. She turns to the older samurai and says. "They are not permanently damaged, sir. You did not indicate you wanted them dead." She grasps the swords by their points and hands him the hilts.  
  
"I am not familiar with the style you used." The older samurai says, as he directs her to just drop the swords.  
  
"It was taught to me by my father, sir. There is no formal name for it." Sango says.  
  
She thinks, 'It's designed for fighting monsters, not men. But, many monsters have sword-like arms, so it was easy to adjust to men.'  
  
The older samurai nods to Sango and turns to Kagome. "Now, you."  
  
"Sir. The bow is my chosen weapon. That is where my strength lies." Kagome says.  
  
"Then, we will test you in weaponless combat." The older samurai says. Kagome pales and swallows. She gives her bow, arrows and sword to Sango. She moves to the center of the room.  
  
"Ken." The older samurai orders.  
  
One of the men, a short slim man about twenty, steps into the center of the room. 'At least he's giving me a chance. He's smaller than some of the men.' Kagome thinks as she tries to loosen up.  
  
Kagome gives him a shallow bow. He bows back.  
  
Kagome attacks. "HAI!" She is using a simple straightforward style, with the basic thrusts, swings, with the occasional kick. Ken defends himself and attacks back. He is using a more complex style.  
  
Kagome is quickly forced on the defensive and has to block, using her arms and legs.  
  
Ken beats down her defenses.  
  
'Damn . . . she's going to lose.' Sango thinks. 'Whoever's been teaching her, needs to do a better job of it.'  
  
Ken slips . . .  
  
The floor wasn't cleaned up after Sango, and the drool from one of the unconscious men she fought is still on the matts.  
  
Kagome quickly attacks his fallen body. She manages to knock him out.  
  
She sits down on the floor, wipes her forehead and sighs. 'I've got to spend more time with Akane. She has told me, repeatedly, that I need more training.'  
  
Sango moves over and helps Kagome up. "Are you hurt?" She whispers.  
  
"I'm going to have some bruises on my arms that Inu-yasha's going hate." Kagome whispers back to her. "But, I am fine."  
  
"You need to get a better teacher." Sango whispers.  
  
"My friend Tendo Akane is a good teacher. I just can't spend enough time to learn." Kagome replies.  
  
The older samurai motions for Sango and Kagome to come to him. They move over to him. "Remain here. I will return. You two have passed the first test."  
  
He leaves the room, after giving a few commands to the rest of the room. His commands: "Have the courtyard prepared for archery." "At least, try, to do it with the girls behind a screen."  
  
After he leaves, "What's your names?" one of the men in the room asks.  
  
"Hojo Donsai" Kagome says.  
  
"Hajake Toorima" Sango says.  
  
"It'll be a while before Yuki Shiba returns." He points to the rest of the men, which are reforming the circle that was broken when the girls entered. "Join us and tell us about yourselves."  
  
"Could you tell me, who is Yuki Shiba?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Oh, he's the Yuki family troubleshooter. He's officially the assistant to the sword master, but he basically handles an odd problem that comes up."  
  
Kagome and Sango take the place of the couple of men that are still unconscious. The three men that Sango fought are plied up. Ken, Kagome's opponent, is awake and is rubbing his jaw.  
  
"Here, have some Saki." One of the men shoves a jar into Kagome's hands.  
  
'In order to be one of the guys, I'm going to have to try to fit in.' she thinks. She takes the jar.  
  
One of the girls, tries to get between Kagome and Sango, but the two girls don't let her in. She moves over to Sango's side. Another girl moves between Kagome and the man that handed her the Saki. She takes the saki, smiles at Kagome, and pours some into a drinking cup.  
  
Kagome, unsure if should she smile or grimace, tries to do both, as she says. "Thank you." And sips the saki. "I'm Hoshi." The girl says to Kagome.  
  
"Ah, thank you, Hoshi." Kagome says.  
  
"Hey, Hoshi, I thought you liked me!" One of the men from the other side of the circle calls out.  
  
Hoshi uses her fan to hide her mouth, and replies, "The lord Yuki Shiba wants him treated properly, Minoru. I still like you, but, it's my duty to serve Hojo Donsai."  
  
Kagome opens her mouth, 'I don't want this type of attention, I've got to get rid of her.' She thinks. She closes her mouth. 'But I've got to fit in, so I can't refuse her service.'  
  
Sango, accepts some saki from the girl on her side, after similar thoughts.  
  
"Hey, Hajake! Great moves!" "Yeah! I haven't seen something like that in a long time." "I'm sure Yuki Shiba will come back with the Yuki family sword master. He's going to want to see you in action." Various men around the circle compliment Sango.  
  
Sango, flushes at the praise. 'Remember, I've got to act like a man.' She thinks.  
  
She grins. "Thanks, guys. I'll be happy to show him what I can do."  
  
The girls next to Sango, slides over and leans into Sango's arm. Her breast is brushing against Sango. Sango freezes. 'What do I do?'  
  
"Are you not happy with Yumi?" She asks.  
  
"Yes, I'm happy." Sango quickly says. "Good." Yumi reaches out and grabs Sango's hand and places it on her thigh. "You're strong. I like strong men." She smiles at Sango.  
  
"Yumi's making her move." "Yeah, she's always been fast." Sango can hear a couple of the men whisper/talk between them.  
  
"Your hands are smoother than most. So. Powerful." Yumi whispers and smiles at Sango as she caresses' Sango hand.  
  
Sango glances at Kagome, a silent plea for help in her eyes.  
  
Kagome, however, isn't looking at Sango, she is being distracted by Hoshi.  
  
Hoshi is using chopsticks to feed Kagome from the plates of food that have reappeared. "Here, this is the house special." Hoshi says to Kagome.  
  
Kagome opens her mouth and allows herself to be feed. 'If I refuse, what will happen?' she thinks.  
  
Sango swallows. 'Hurry back Yuki Shiba!' she thinks. She glances at Yumi's face and she sees something, perhaps disappointment in her eyes. Yumi is staring at Sango's hand, which Yumi has placed on the inside of her upper thighs.  
  
'I've got to act like a man. Like Miroku . . . ' Sango thinks. She gently squeezes and begins to rub Yumi's thigh.  
  
Yumi gives Sango a small squeal. Yumi bends over, making sure her lush body brushes against Sango's, and she whispers, "I knew you liked girls. Some of the girls, when you entered with your friend, thought you were one of those that liked boys better."  
  
Sango flushes and whispers back, "ah . . . of course I like girls. I always have."  
  
Yumi, who is still leaning against Sango and is still rubbing herself against Sango, whispers, "good. Later tonight, you can prove it to me."  
  
Sango's face gets redder and she whispers, "yes, I'll love to."  
  
Ken speaks up, "You only beat me due to luck, Hojo. I'm better than you." He glares at Kagome.  
  
'I can't back down.' Kagome thinks. "I beat you once, I can beat you again. I am the better man than you." She growls back.  
  
Ken grins. "A better man than I? Prove it."  
  
"I will. No problem." Kagome glares back. "Take Hoshi behind a screen then." Ken smiles. "Or don't you like girls?"  
  
'Oh my god! What do I do?' Kagome thinks. She glances over at Sango.  
  
Sango is staring back at her. 'She can't back down, if she does . . . I don't want to think about it.'  
  
"I knew you two weren't normal men." Ken smirks in triumph.  
  
Kagome takes a deep breath and says. "I am a normal man and I'll prove it."  
  
She reaches out and drags Hoshi into a hug. One of her hands is, obviously caressing Hoshi's breast.  
  
"Eekk! Not so rough." Hoshi squeals, but her hands are on the ties holding Kagome's kimono together.  
  
Kagome brushes Hoshi's hand off the kimono and stands up. "Set up a screen and I show you." She declares. 'I pray, with all my heart, that I'll be able to convince her not to scream when she sees I'm not a man.' she thinks.  
  
She glances at Sango, who is looking a little pale. Sango shrugs her shoulders. 'What else can she do? If worst comes to worst, I can still get us out of here.'  
  
Kagome thinks as she goes behind the screen. 'I pray that something, anything happens to interrupt . . . '  
  
Hoshi goes behind the screen and hugs Kagome. Her mouth is kissing Kagome's clothes and slowly going up to Kagome's mouth.  
  
Hoshi and Kagome's mouth grow closer . . .  
  
The older samurai, Yuki Shiba and a couple of other older men enter the room. "Stop that. You can do that later." He orders.  
  
Kagome turns away and breaths a huge sigh of relief.  
  
"We will go to the courtyard. There you two will undergo additional testing." He orders.  
  
Everybody, including the women, leaves the room and goes to a nearby courtyard. The doors at one end have been opened and in that room a small archery target has been set up.  
  
"First, Hojo Donsai, let's see what you can do." Yuki Shiba orders.  
  
Kagome steps up to the edge of the courtyard and readies her bow. 'It's a short distance, not since I'm shooting through a doorway, I've got to be precise, otherwise... I'll hit the doorway.' She thinks as she aims.  
  
Kagome shoots . . . and her arrow hits the target.  
  
She shoots ten arrows before Yuki Shiba orders her to stop.  
  
He and the other two older samurai huddle.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"He's good. Not the best, but, I've seen much worse."  
  
"You?"  
  
"One in ten could beat him. He'll get better once he gets rid of that weak peasant's bow."  
  
"The Hojo name?"  
  
"Fake." All three nod.  
  
"But, if his friend is as good as you said, Shiba, then I've got no problem hiring them"  
  
"Agree. But, I want to see the other in action."  
  
"You'll see."  
  
The huddle breaks up.  
  
"Hajake." Yuki Shiba says.  
  
"Sir." Sango says.  
  
"Into the center of the courtyard."  
  
"Of course, sir." she says as she moves into the courtyard. "Who do I fight?"  
  
"Me." Yuki Shiba growls as he enters the courtyard. "First blood."  
  
Sango nods and moves into a defensive stance.  
  
They bow to each other.  
  
Shiba attacks.  
  
The courtyard rings with the sound of steel on steel.  
  
Additional people come out of the rooms to watch the swordplay. Most of them are only partially dressed.  
  
The two circle each other, attacking and defending . . . the swords move in a graceful, precise ballet . . .  
  
They stop . . .  
  
Sango is bleeding from a small cut on her left arm. She bows to Yuki Shiba. He bows back to her.  
  
Kagome rushes to Sango to bandage her. "You OK?"  
  
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch, Kagome."  
  
"He's good."  
  
Sango smiles. "If we were going to get invited to the party, he had to win this match, Kagome."  
  
Yuki Shiba and the older samurai huddle again.  
  
"They are hired."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How good is he?"  
  
"Very good." Yuki Shiba says. 'He could have won at any time. He's fast and strong and that style . . . ' he thinks.  
  
The huddle breaks up.  
  
"Come, Hojo Donsai and Hajake Toorima. You've pasted this test."  
  
"Is there more, lord?" Kagome asks as they walk through the house. Yuki Shiba, the two older samurai and the two girls walk together.  
  
"There is no more combat. But, the prince of the house of Yuki will want to speak with you before anything is truly decided."  
  
"Thank you, lord."  
  
They leave the cheap house and walk to the more expensive Tamamo house. He leads them through the corridors.  
  
The sounds of several drunken parties come through the paper walls of the house.  
  
He approaches a door. Through the walls, the girls can hear the sounds of a drunken party.  
  
"Wait here." He says as he goes into the room. He leaves the door open.  
  
The room inside is bigger than the room the guards were in. The walls are better decorated. The scenes are of young girls and boys bathing in the nude. A group of women is playing musical instruments in one corner.  
  
The men are seated between half a dozen small low tables. Each table has a couple of men and a couple of women seated at it. The women are serving and talking to the men.  
  
Yuki Shiba goes off to one side of the room, and leaves the opening. Sango bumps Kagome and whispers. "There, at the table on the left." She subtly points.  
  
Kagome looks at the table Sango mentioned.  
  
At the table the two girls are looking at . . .  
  
One man at the table has a girl sitting on his lap. He is trying to grab her breasts, but the girl keeps fending him off. "Sir. It's not polite to grab." The girl says.  
  
"If you don't stop fighting me, girl, I take you right here, right now." The man growls back. The girl on the man's lap has one hand covered in bandages.  
  
"That's Miroku." Sango whispers.  
  
The other man is being feed by the woman at his side. She is using chopsticks to place the food in his mouth. "This is the life, to be served by a beautiful young woman. And later to bed her" He leers at the girl as he speaks.  
  
The girl has very long black hair and black eyes, but there is something about her. Perhaps it is her expression of barely concealed disgust . . .  
  
"That's Inu-yasha. I'd know him anywhere." Kagome says.  
  
The end chapter 10.  
  
Chapter 11 will explain how the boys got into that situation . . .  
  
Posting schedules: I'm going to do a couple of weeks of chapters of "Kagome! Where are you?!", then I'll return to "A Shard in Kyoto"  
  
The names for the girls... Donsai means boring... I wonder is Kagome thinking about the Hojo from her time?  
  
Hajake Toorima basically means phantom killer destroyer. It's not Sango's profession, but she doesn't want it to be to obvious...  
  
thank you for reading jeff shelton 


	11. geisha house part 3 Boys & girls

Shard chapter 11  
  
Boys & Girls . . .  
  
There will be sexual activity in this chapter, so be warned. This chapter is rated R.  
  
This chapter does assume that the reader is familiar with my stories "Spring fertility festival" and "Why is Miroku a pervert?".  
  
I will probably lose some readers, but . . . so be it . . .  
  
The two geishas, Yuki and Sachiko, lead Inu-yasha and Miroku away from Tamamo's office. "Please follow us." They bow politely to Inu-yasha and Miroku.  
  
They led the two boys to a private bath area. "Please strip." They bow and begin to prepare the area.  
  
Miroku quickly strips naked. The two geishas' hide their faces behind their hands, and they whisper to each other. He smiles. 'Most women love my size.' He thinks.  
  
"Monk, control yourself. It would be embarrassing tonight, if that was visible or felt." Sachiko says from behind her hand.  
  
"Oh." Miroku mumbles and he calms himself.  
  
"What about Tetsusaiga?" Inu-yasha grumbles, fingering the hilt of the sword.  
  
"Don't worry, Inu-yasha. I've known Tamamo for years, and she's trustworthy."  
  
Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Besides, why don't you just make a defensive spell around it. If you want, I'll add a spell scroll to protect the sword."  
  
"I'll need a closet, or something private." Inu-yasha orders Yuki. She shows him a small closet. He places the sword in it. The sword glows from a defensive barrier. Miroku adds a spell scroll to it.  
  
Inu-yasha strips, but he keeps his loincloth on, and, of course, his necklace. "I'm not removing this." He points to the cloth around his waist.  
  
Everybody looks at him and sighs, but accepts his condition. The two geisha wash Miroku and Inu-yasha.  
  
Miroku keeps trying to grope Yuki, who is bathing him, but she is always able to block, or divert his hands. She is always polite, but always, her hands are in the way of his. 'Hmmm. She's good.' He thinks. 'But, I'm better.' He tries again . . . only to fail again.  
  
Inu-yasha grins at Miroku's discomfort and as the bath progressives, his even more obvious attempts at groping.  
  
"You'll get yours, Inu-yasha." Miroku mumbles under his breath.  
  
"No way." Inu-yasha grins back.  
  
The bath ends and the two geishas lead the boys into another room. It has a couple of full length bronze mirrors and a couple of chests, full of make- up supplies.  
  
"Sit, here, Inu-yasha." Sachiko tells him.  
  
He growls, "Don't tell me to sit, whore."  
  
She raises an eyebrow. Miroku hides a grin. 'I wonder how she'll get him back for that.' He thinks.  
  
"It's time to apply your make-up, Inu-yasha." She grins.  
  
He frowns, "not get dressed?"  
  
"Make up, first." She opens up a small jar and scoops some of the contents into her hand.  
  
She begins to apply the make-up to Inu-yasha's face. Yuki is doing something similar to Miroku.  
  
As Sachiko is applying the make-up, her body begins to brush, subtly, against Inu-yasha's body.  
  
She says, as she does this, "Since you need to be ready quickly, Inu-yasha, we'll be taking some shortcuts in make-up, hair and dress. If you were a real geisha, you'd be spending most of the afternoon getting ready. But, I'll have you ready in only a short time." She grins. "Just, don't move. If you move, then it'll take longer."  
  
'All fucking afternoon!' Inu-yasha angrily thinks. 'There is no way. I'd stay still for that.'  
  
Sachiko applies a thick white make-up base, while her body touches his. On top of that, a red blush is applied to Inu-yasha's checks, as her breasts lightly rub his arms.  
  
"Now, open wide." She says as she pulls out a small jar full of a black paste. "I've got to cover your teeth with this."  
  
"That shit!" Inu-yasha exclaims.  
  
"Yes. All the girls do it. It helps protect your teeth and it makes you more beautiful." She covers her fingertips in black goo.  
  
"No way. That does not make sense." He says as he shakes his head.  
  
"Ah, but, it is common, Inu-yasha. I, personally, don't like it myself, but, especially in a high class tea house like Tamamo's, all the girls will have it on." Miroku adds into the conversation.  
  
The two geishas nod and smile, showing their blackened teeth. They had been covering their faces and/or only opening their mouths slightly, so Inu- yasha hadn't noticed their teeth until now.  
  
"And I'm not going to like wearing it myself, but it's needed for the disguise, Inu-yasha." Miroku sighs and opens his mouth for Yuki to apply the black goo.  
  
"What is this?" Inu-yasha demands.  
  
"Iron filings, boiled in a mix of tea and sake. We add in some cinnamon and a couple of other spices to freshen your mouth, and to cover up the taste." Sachiko replies. "Now, open wide."  
  
Inu-yasha grunts, looks at Miroku, who is getting his teeth blackened. He snarls, but opens his mouth. 'It's needed for the disguise, so I will do it.' He thinks.  
  
Red paint is applied to his lips. "Watch me pucker and do the same. I need to make sure it's on properly." She purses her lips, bare inches from his. He growls, but he puckers his lips. "Good." She grins.  
  
"Luckily your white eyebrows blend into the white make-up, so this will look better on you, than your friend." She draws a fake eyebrow in the middle of his forehead. Inu-yasha looks at Miroku, and yes, he does look better. Miroku has two sets of eyebrows now.  
  
"Now it's time to fix your hair, Inu-yasha." She turns around and takes out of the chest a selection of large and small combs. When her back is turned, Inu-yasha quickly adjusts his loincloth.  
  
Miroku and Yuki giggle, he growls at them. Sachiko turns around, amusement in her eyes, "I told you not to move, Inu-yasha." Her eyes flick up and down his body, "but, luckily you did not disturb the make-up, so I do not have to reapply it."  
  
Luckily, his make-up hides his blush at her gaze . . .  
  
"Now, Inu-yasha, don't move. Fixing your hair will be a challenge." She whispers into his ear as she moves behind him.  
  
Sachiko's breasts make little circles against Inu-yasha's back as she begins to fix his hair. Her fingers caress his triangular ears, lightly.  
  
Inu-yasha grabs her hand and growls, "don't touch my ears."  
  
"Inu-yasha, now, I have to do it all over again." Sachiko says in a slightly irritated tone. "Now, remain still." Sachiko's breasts press into his back, as she says this.  
  
"Grrr . . . quit, fucking, teasing me, then, whore."  
  
"Be polite, Inu-yasha." She whispers, as her hand brushes against his thigh.  
  
"Think about this as a test for tonight, Inu-yasha." Miroku says.  
  
"Grr . . . "  
  
"And, if you're polite and apologize to her, I'm sure she'll back off." He adds.  
  
"And you, Miroku, are you learning how to dodge a groping man?" Yuki asks. "You'll need to know that, for tonight, you know."  
  
Miroku faces purples.  
  
Inu-yasha snorts at the look on Miroku's face.  
  
"Grr. We don't have all night." Inu-yasha growls out. "So, woman, I said things that I could have said better."  
  
Sachiko sighs, but her breasts leave Inu-yasha's body. "It must be too done better than that, Inu-yasha, but, I'll accept your apology." She whispers.  
  
Most of the rest of the make-up and dressing session goes smoother, but . . .  
  
Inu-yasha pats his flat male breasts. "How are you going to disguise these?"  
  
Yuki grins, "Do you think that you're the first men to disguise themselves here?" She moves to one of the chests and pulls out a couple of pairs of what look like Kagome's bras. But where the cups of Kagome's bras are empty, these are filled in. "Fine sand is in these. They look great. Just don't let the men grab them."  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha put on the fake breasts. "What about these?" Inu-yasha holds up his clawed hands.  
  
The two geishas huddle and whisper. They take out a file.  
  
"Let's see them." Sachiko orders. She takes his hand and tries to file down the claw. No success. The two geishas look at each other.  
  
"There's nothing much we can do, Tamamo might have a spell that'll cover them, but we think you'll just have to take the chance that nobody will pay attention to your hands." Yuki says.  
  
"Just try not to place your hands in front of somebodies face and that should do it. Sometimes men notice the hands, and sometimes they don't. And they'll be drunk, so." Sachiko shrugs. "I think you'll get away with it."  
  
Inu-yasha growls and nods.  
  
"Now, boys, before we start to dress you two," Yuki says, "Use the toilet."  
  
Both boys look at her in surprise.  
  
"You're not going to be able to leave the room, so do it now." Sachiko drags out a couple of high stools, with a hole cut out of the seat and a pot under the seat. "And afterward, we'll clean you up, just like your mother used to and perfume you."  
  
"Then dress you." Yuki says as she opens up a large closet, full of nice silk kimonos.  
  
"But . . . but." The boys sputter.  
  
Sachiko raises her eyebrows, "you don't think we do this alone do you? We dress and prepare ourselves in groups, each helping the other, including cleaning each other. You two are getting special treatment, in that you don't have to help us."  
  
"Not that we'd let you, anyway. Men know nothing about how to look good. They always assume all we have to do is throw on a dress and that's it." Yuki sniffs. "It takes hours of work to look presentable."  
  
"And ALL of the time, men don't notice." Sachiko says. "And Miroku, you especially, you might be amazed at the response, if you just compliment women about the time it takes to look perfect."  
  
"I do compliment women!" Miroku exclaims.  
  
"No. You grope them." Inu-yasha says sarcastically.  
  
"And groping is a compliment! It tells women that they look good enough to be sexy!" Miroku replies to him. "And you have never given Kagome a single compliment."  
  
"Grr . . . I have . . . " Inu-yasha looks around and remembers that the two geishas are looking and listening to him and Miroku. He licks his lips. Miroku looks around. 'Will he admit to complimenting her in front of strangers?' he wonders.  
  
"Grr . . . She doesn't deserve any compliments."  
  
Miroku sighs and looks away from Inu-yasha. 'Stupid, stupid Inu-yasha...'  
  
Yuki and Sachiko look at each and shake their heads... They share a single thought, 'Stupid, stupid men.'  
  
Miroku allows the girls to clean him up after using the stool. But, Inu- yasha, says, "Nope. I can hold it."  
  
The girls sigh at his attitude, but continue.  
  
The dresses chosen for the boys look simple, but are voluminous. Wrapping the boys in the dress and tying them properly stretches Inu-yasha's patience.  
  
"Grr . . . hurry, fucking, up."  
  
Sachiko raises an eyebrow, and makes a subtle twist in the dress. "Sit down, Inu-yasha, please."  
  
He sits, but there is knot digging into his side. "Now, do you want this put on properly, where it is somewhat comfortable, or do you want knots like that?" she asks.  
  
"Grr. "Inu-yasha stands up. "Fix it."  
  
She stands there.  
  
"Fix it, please."  
  
She bows and fixes it.  
  
Tamamo enters as the finishing touches are being applied to the two boys.  
  
"Good, girls. Excellent work." She says as she enters.  
  
They bow to her. "I just need to touch up Inu-yasha hair color." She nods to him. "Then, you two girls need to teach the boys how to sit in these clothes. Also we need to see how well they can alter their voices to sound like a woman's. After that, I'll bring them to the party."  
  
The two boys look at each other, somewhat confused at the notion of being taught to sit.  
  
She goes over to Inu-yasha, passes her hands over his head. His hair color changes to black. "It's simple spell, Inu-yasha. Once you leave this building and the anti-demon spells that surround it, the spell should break."  
  
He nods. "What about my hands?" he holds them up.  
  
Tamamo looks at them and then shakes her head. "That illusion takes time to prepare, sorry. You'll just have to take the chance that everyone is too drunk to notice your hands."  
  
"Now girls, sit down." She nods to the two geishas in the room. The two girls begin to sit down and stand up, each time, lifting their clothes. "Watch how they position their legs, boys. You need to sit properly."  
  
After a couple examples from the two geishas, she says, "Now, try it, boys."  
  
The two boys have to sit down serval times before they get it right.  
  
"Good. You'll do" Tamamo nods.  
  
"Now, try to speak in a woman's voice." She orders.  
  
"How the fuck are we supposed to that?" Inu-yasha asks.  
  
She rolls her eyes. "Try, Inu-yasha, if you can't fake a female voice, it'll be hard to serve when you can't say a thing."  
  
Both Miroku and Inu-yasha grimace, but nod and begin to speak.  
  
The two boys begin to say random words in high pitched voices. After a few minutes of couching for the three geishas, Tamamo says, "Well, I will recommend that you don't say much. And when you try to whisper in low tones, it's harder to tell the difference between men and women that way. But, don't say much, you, especially, Inu-yasha."  
  
The boys nod in understanding.  
  
"Wrap your hand, Miroku."  
  
Miroku nods, and takes a strip of white cloth from Yuki. He wraps his hand.  
  
Tamamo nods. "The story is that both of you are new hires. So, you will not have to do anything more than serve sake and food. And, of course, the story is that Miroku has burned his hand, to explain the bandage."  
  
They nod. "Now, do you have a name you want to be called by?" She asks.  
  
Inu-yasha, with suspicion in his voice asks, "Why are you asking?"  
  
"Because you'll be known by this name tonight. If you are told to come here, but ignore the summons because you forgot your name. That would be embarrassing." She grins, a twinkle in her eyes.  
  
Miroku, with a twinkle in his eyes, says, "Call Inu-yasha by the name Kagome."  
  
"What?" Inu-yasha spins, he starts to charge Miroku, but the unfamiliar clothes cause him to fumble, only his reflexes prevent him from falling and ripping his clothes.  
  
"And call me by the name Sango."  
  
"Grrr" Inu-yasha begins, "Fucking monk . . . " he growls.  
  
"You will not forget it." Miroku says.  
  
The three women in the room exchange glances. Sachiko nods. Yuki nods, as well.  
  
"Very well, Miroku, you will be called Sango. And Inu-yasha will be called Kagome."  
  
Inu-yasha twirls.  
  
"And your reason for refusing that name is?" Tamamo says calmly, before Inu- yasha can express his question.  
  
Inu-yasha opens his mouth. He looks around. Everyone is looking at him. 'Hmmm. You know, if Miroku calls himself Sango, and I go by Kagome, then he'll never tell her or Kagome about tonight. And I, definitely do not want them to know anything about tonight.' He thinks. He closes his mouth and nods.  
  
Tamamo gives them one final hard look to make sure they're ready.  
  
Miroku is dressed in a basic grass-green kimono. The designs on it look, at first glance, like various white orchids. But, if you look closely, the flowers have some features very similar to the private body part of females. His hair is drawn up and made into a bun, with an orchid is in his hair.  
  
Inu-yasha is dressed in a basic sky-blue kimono. The designs on it look like clouds. However, again, looking closer, the clouds and the details on them tend to look suspiciously like female body parts. His hair is made into a complex hairstyle. At least two large combs have been placed in his hair and his hair is twirled in them, like a pretzel. It does cover his ears, and it allows them to move freely under the mass of his hair.  
  
Tamamo nods. "Good, follow me."  
  
Tamamo leaves the room and the boys follow her. She stops in a small room. An older geisha, without much make-up on, is in the room. The room is a small kitchen. In it is a stove with a couple of jar of hot water on it. The older geisha is preparing tea and sake for the quests.  
  
"Pick up that tray and jar, Kagome."  
  
Inu-yasha starts, but he remembers his alias, and picks up the tray. He almost drops the tray, once he looks at the jar.  
  
The jar is shaped like a man's erect manhood, with the balls of a man, holding the sake. The drink is poured out via the tip, like a man. The cups on the tray look like the private parts of a woman. The drink is poured into the cups, like a man depositing his sperm into a woman.  
  
Author's I do have a picture of the jar & cups, they are real. I am sorry for splitting up the address, but it was the only way to get this chapter to load and still be formatted properly. (Took me 30 minutes of grabs a similar tray.  
  
Tamamo, then, leads them to a large room.  
  
The walls of the room are decorated with scenes of young girls and boys bathing in the nude. A group of women is playing musical instruments in one corner.  
  
Inside the room is a large group of men, more than twenty. Mixed in among them is at least that many women. The men are seated around about ten to twelve low tables. Each table has a couple of men and a couple of women.  
  
On each table is some food, such as a bowl with white rice and a couple of small bowls with other food. The contents of the small bowls change with each table, and they are passed around.  
  
The men are all well dressed, with nice kimonos. All of the men are wearing two swords, as is proper for samurai to wear. Between the music and the conversations the room has a nice buzz going on.  
  
Tamamo motions for Inu-yasha and Miroku to wait at the doorway. She goes to the center table. Sitting at it is a couple of men. Their clothes are the richest in the room. One of them is a young looking man, early to mid twenties. He is thin, with a clean shaven handsome face. The other is an older man. His body is barrel shaped. His face is scared, with it on the right side of his face, near his jawbone.  
  
Tamamo talks to both men, they look at Inu-yasha and Kagome, and nod. Tamamo waves them to her. They walk over to her, using the small, mincing steps that the tight clothes force them to walk. Miroku bows, deeply, to the two men. Inu-yasha, after a small pause, also bows. Both boys are dexterous enough that they can balance the trays as they bow.  
  
The young man speaks, "we have the pleasure." The room goes quiet. "Of having a couple of brand-new girls with us tonight. Kagome." Inu-yasha bows, to hide his grimace. "And Sango." Miroku smiles to the room before he bows.  
  
"This is their first party, boys, so, I've been asked by the hostess." He nods to Tamamo, "that these two girls are only to serve food and drink." He grins, "So, don't ask them to service your manhood."  
  
Both Inu-yasha and Miroku blush and look at each. Neither one had even thought about that . . .  
  
Tamamo walks over to the Inu-yasha and Miroku, she whispers, "you're on your own. Don't make a stupid mistake." She leaves the room.  
  
"Kagome, come over here." The young man says.  
  
Inu-yasha comes over. "Pour me some of that sake." He orders.  
  
As Inu-yasha is handing him the cup of sake, the young man reaches over and pats Inu-yasha's ass. Luckily Inu-yasha was still bent over, so his expression of disgust isn't seen by anybody. 'I will remember this and I will rip out your fucking heart.' He thinks as straightens and tries to put a smile on his face.  
  
'I am going to hate tonight. With a passion.' Inu-yasha looks over at Miroku, who is serving the older samurai, 'I'm going to get you too, monk. One of these days . . . You'll pay for tonight.' He pledges to himself.  
  
Miroku, as he serves the older samurai, also has his ass groped. 'It's all right. Just go with it. It's just part of the disguise.' He thinks.  
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku begin to walk around the room, serving sake to the men.  
  
All of the men, grope or at least try to grope them. Both boys' reflexes are good enough that none of the men get a good enough feel of their breasts to determine that they are fake. (A couple men think they are padding their breasts, but that's it.)  
  
Inu-yasha, spills a cup of sake on one samurai, "sorry, sir for that, this is my first time." Inu-yasha whispers contritely to the samurai.  
  
'Being embarrassed for spilling a cup of sake is a lot better than being embarrassed by him feeling my manhood.' He thinks. 'But I will remember your face and scent, bastard.'  
  
Miroku has to do something similar to escape the grasp of another samurai before that samurai can get his hand under Miroku's dress.  
  
"You are listening to their talk. Right, Sango." Inu-yasha harshly whispers to him, as they pass each other.  
  
"Of course, Kagome. That is why we are here." Miroku whispers back.  
  
The men and women in the room are gossiping and talking. And, while who is going to have sex with whom is a major part of the conversation, there is talk about the city, the rumors of the shards and who has got them.  
  
The attack on the Yamakawa compound by zombies and the Hosokawa families responses are popular conversation items. Apparently, while everyone is sure that the Yamakawa family needs to be destroyed, everyone is trying to split up the treasure before they get it and arguments over how to split the Yamakawa family fortune is preventing the Hosokawa family from attacking the Yamakawa family.  
  
Oddly, enough, though, while the Yuki family has been approached, from the talk around the table, it's the Yuki family that has caused the problems, by mentioning previous battles where the Hosokawa family had evaded agreements about the splitting of treasure.  
  
A couple of other tales going around the tables has various Yuki family members, during talks with other families, bringing up other past problems and possible future betrayals. Both Inu-yasha and Miroku come to the conclusion that the Yuki family is causing, at least some, of the tension between the houses in Kyoto. Why the Yuki family is causing the tension isn't mentioned, only that it is from the orders of the master of the family.  
  
As the night progresses, the men get drunker and the talk shifts from rumors and discussions about the city, to who gets to sleep with whom. The men's conversation gets saltier and coarser. "Girl, Sango." One the men call.  
  
Miroku walks over, "how may I serve you?" he says in a husky whisper.  
  
The man flips his kimono open, revealing his erect manhood. "Suck me."  
  
Miroku, a frightened look on his face, hides his face with his free hand, his other is still balancing the tray, and protests in a low voice, "Sir, everyone was told earlier, that doing that is not part of my duties tonight."  
  
"Come on, you've got to do sometime. Why not tonight?" the man says, as he holds himself.  
  
The geisha, who has been sitting next to him, leans over and says, "let me." Her hair conceals his stomach and groin as her head bends over him. The man sighs in pleasure and begins to pat her head like a man petting his favorite dog. "You need to watch her, Sango, she knows how to please a man." Miroku bites his lips, "thank you, sir, I will." Luckily the samurai got so involved with the geisha, he ignores the fact the Miroku slowly slides away.  
  
Miroku looks at Inu-yasha. Inu-yasha looks at Miroku. They both shake their heads.  
  
Eventually, A geisha and a samurai move off to the screened off part of the room. Sounds of mating come from over the screens. As they finish, others change places with them, so there is always the sound of mating in the room.  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha are told to stop walking around serving sake and just serves a couple of samurai. The geishas, which were serving them, have been called off for 'other' duties behind the screens.  
  
"We need to find a way out of here." Inu-yasha whispers to Miroku as they sit down. Luckily both of the samurai they are serving are drunk enough so they are not really paying attention to Inu-yasha and Miroku.  
  
"Yes, this is turning into an orgy. And we've learned everything we can, I think." Miroku whispers back.  
  
"But how?" they look at each other.  
  
Miroku thinks, 'Besides, I've got think about groping. I always thought it was a good thing. But, now that I've had to dodge groping men . . . There might be better ways to get a girls attention.'  
  
Inu-yasha thinks, 'getting treated like a whore for a night . . . I never realized how much I could hate being treated as an object, not a person. Maybe, I need to rethink how I treat Kagome.'  
  
They see the older samurai, the one that has been sitting next to the Yuki family prince, get up and leave the room.  
  
A few minutes later, a messenger comes into the room and a couple of the older samurai also leave the room.  
  
"Let's stay." Inu-yasha whispers, "I heard some odd things there." He nods at the older samurai.  
  
Miroku raises his eyebrow, which looks really weird since there are fake eyebrows drawn above his real ones.  
  
The whisper between Inu-yasha and Miroku, unfortunately, has reminded the two samurai that they have geishas next to them.  
  
The older samurai, and the two other samurai return to the room. Following them is a pair of young men. One of them has a very nice long sword, hanging from his waist. The other, has a peasant's bow and a crude sword hanging from his waist.  
  
Hikaro, the samurai that Miroku is sitting next to, begins to try to grope Miroku's fake breasts. Miroku, of course, is trying to fend off his hands.  
  
Kenji, the samurai that Inu-yasha is sitting next to, begins to demand that Inu-yasha feeds him, like a mother feeds her baby.  
  
Hikaro, picks Miroku up and shifts him onto his lap. "If you don't stop fighting me, girl, I'll take you right here, right now." He growls.  
  
Kenji is being feed by Inu-yasha at his side. He is using chopsticks to place the food into the samurai's mouth. "This is the life, to be served by a beautiful young woman. And later to bed her" Kenji leers at the girl, he believes next to him, as he speaks.  
  
Inu-yasha sniffs, and his head turns to look at the two 'men' that just entered. His eyes widen. "Oh . . . shit." He whispers.  
  
Luckily, Miroku's problem has caused another geisha to come to his aid. The other geishas in the room have been told to help the two 'new' girls. Between the two of them they convince the Hikaro to let Miroku go.  
  
As Miroku stands up and tries to fix his dress, Inu-yasha hisses at him and subtly points to the two young men, still standing at the doorway.  
  
Miroku looks and he glances away, then he looks again. He swallows. "Sango and Kagome. I'd recognize their auras anywhere." He whispers. He sits back down, and both Miroku and Inu-yasha exchange very worried glances.  
  
The two young men are staring back them, and are whispering to themselves.  
  
The older samurai, Yuki Shiba, waves for the Sango and Kagome to enter the room and come to the table where the prince of the Yuki family is sitting.  
  
"You are Hojo Donsai and Hajake Toorima." The prince of the Yuki family says.  
  
They both bow to him. "Yes, Lord." They say at the same time.  
  
"Good. Shiba says that you are worthy men and it's his recommendation that the Yuki family acquires your services."  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each other and Kagome says, "We thank the Lord Yuki Shiba for his good words, Lord." She nods her head in his direction. He nods back.  
  
"Having more men is a good thing, right now. So, I accept your offer for employment. Tomorrow, we will discuss exactly what your duties will be and what your pay will be." He waves his hands at the party going on. "Tonight, though, you will join us. Chose any table to sit at."  
  
Kagome and Sango nod to each other and walk over to the table where Inu- yasha and Miroku are sitting.  
  
They bow to the table.  
  
Kagome says, "I am Hojo Donsai." She nods toward the two Samurai sitting at the table.  
  
Sango says, "I am Hajake Toorima."  
  
"I am Yuki Hikaro." One of them says  
  
"I am Yuki Kenji." The other says.  
  
Sango and Kagome look at each and Kagome asks, with a twinkle in her eyes, "And who are the two beautiful geishas' sitting here?"  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha look at each other. They bite their lips. Sango adds, "well?"  
  
Kenji, looking puzzled since most geishas willingly give their names, says, "this is Kagome." He pats Inu-yasha's knee.  
  
"Yes, and this is Sango." Hikaro says as he pats Miroku's knee. Kagome and Sango look at each other. "Kagome." Kagome says as she glances at Inu-yasha.  
  
"Sango, hmm." Sango says as she glances at Miroku.  
  
The two girls look at each other.  
  
Kagome, glances pointedly at Inu-yasha, as she sits next to Miroku.  
  
Sango, with an equally nasty glance at Miroku, sits next to Inu-yasha.  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha look at each other and share a single thought, 'explaining this . . . will not be enjoyable.' Miroku can already feel the lumps form on his head. Inu-yasha's hand brushes against his chest where his necklace is.  
  
Yuki Shiba, who has been watching the two new men, comes over. "Is there a problem?" he asks. Kagome looks at him, "Oh, no. Lord Yuki Shiba, it's just that we grew up in the same castle with these two women." She quickly says.  
  
'That should give us a reason to know each other. And. That should get back at them. Stealing our names.' She thinks.  
  
"AH." He says. "Well, in that case, Hikaro and Kenji can move to another table."  
  
'Something is going on here,' he thinks. 'And by removing my two men, we'll just see what happens. Two men, one of them with the skill of Hajake Toorima and the other with an obvious alias of Hojo, do not just wander in off the street. By placing these four together . . . something might happen. I will keep my eye on them.'  
  
Yuki Shiba moves back to the table where the prince is sitting. He whispers to a couple of his men, sitting at the nearest table, along the way. "Keep an eye on them. Listen to their conversation. Try to get the two new guys to talk about their past." They nod back.  
  
Inu-yasha, Kagome, Miroku and Sango stare at each other as they sit at the table . . . Their positions . . . clockwise . . . Kagome is sitting next to Miroku, who is next to Inu-yasha, with Sango on the other side of Inu-yasha. (Fake man, fake girl, fake girl, fake man . . . )  
  
'Hmmm.' Sango thinks as she glances around and sees that some of the people are staring at them, 'I've got to something, something like a man would do, to convince them that we are real.'  
  
She swings her arm around Inu-yasha's shoulders and says in a normal tone, "Sango, why don't you sit on my lap, like a good geisha."  
  
She whispers, fiercely, at the table, "play along, they have to think us girls are men and you guys are girls." Inu-yasha swallows, flicks his eyes around the room, 'yes, there are a lot of whispers about us going on, we'll have to prove that we are what we've said we are.'  
  
He moves and sits on Sango's lap. "You're heavy, you know." She whispers at his ears, as she tries to move his hair, so she can whisper into his ears, she can see the large combs and complex hairstyle that have Inu-yasha's hair piled onto top of his head.  
  
Kagome, licks her lips, and boldly reaches out with her left hand and gives Miroku's fake breast a squeeze. "Come on, Kagome, sit on mine, too, just like you used to back home." She says in a normal tone.  
  
Miroku, a tight smile on his lips, sits on Kagome's lap. "What is in this? Sand?" she whispers to him, as she tugs on the fake breast.  
  
Inu-yasha, shifts his position on Sango's lap, and says in a girlish tone. "You are happy to see me." He shifts his ass. "I can feel it."  
  
"Be careful with the hair, bitch. I don't want my ears to be seen." Inu- yasha whispers to Sango.  
  
Miroku, seeing Inu-yasha's moves, also grinds his ass into Kagome's lap. "It's nice to see you again. I've missed this." He says in a normal tone.  
  
"Watch it, Lady Kagome, don't tug too hard on that." He whispers to her.  
  
A pause . . . Kagome and Sango share a glance and a thought, "the tables are turned, I wonder how well the boys will like it, if we treat them like they treat us."  
  
Kagome and Sango smile at each other.  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha share a glance and a thought, "I don't like that smile on her face . . . "  
  
Kagome reaches out and places her right-hand on Miroku's inner thigh. She begins to move it up to his crotch. She whispers, "How do you like it when I feel you up, Sango?"  
  
"Kagome, you bitch, I liked what I saw when I came into the room." Sango lifts Inu-yasha off her lap, easily. She places him next to her. "Feed me. And loosen that kimono too, so, I can feel you up, properly." She begins to slip her right hand under his kimono.  
  
A couple of geisha's, remembering their orders from Tamamo to help the two new 'girls', walk over to the table. "Sirs, these two girls are new here and are still being trained. Let us, please, take their place." One of them says.  
  
Kagome and Sango shake their heads, "no. We like it the way it is."  
  
Miroku, in a high-pitched voice, says, "We'll be fine, girls. These are old friends." Inu-yasha nods in agreement, as the two geishas look at him. The two geishas look at each other and shrug. Their orders were to help the new girls, if they don't want help, then . . . there are other men that they need to serve.  
  
They move off.  
  
Inu-yasha begins to feed Sango via chopsticks.  
  
Miroku begins to slowly and sensually grind his ass into Kagome's lap. His hand moves Kagome's hand on his thigh, closer to his crotch.  
  
After a couple of minutes, Inu-yasha whispers to the table, "The talk about us has calmed down, they bought it."  
  
"We'll still have to act this way, in case somebody glances over, so keep feeding me." Sango whispers.  
  
Inu-yasha gives a low growl, but continues to feed Sango.  
  
Kagome stops her hand, just short of Miroku's crotch, she whispers, "I thought that you would have hated being groped, Miroku."  
  
He whispers back, "I do. But you're a lot nicer than the samurai in this room." He grimaces, "still, it probably best that you don't go any higher. It would be embarrassing if my disguise was broken because I couldn't control myself."  
  
The two samurai sitting at the nearest table begins to ask Hojo and Hajake about the wars and battles they had been in.  
  
Kagome and Sango, with some editing and altering of the names, tell of their past adventures, which satisfies the samurai.  
  
The conversation between the two tables quickly spreads and the men begin to boast about their past victories.  
  
The prince of the Yuki house, at about this time, gets up and with his favorite geisha, he moves into an adjoining room for some private time with her.  
  
Almost as soon as he leaves, the partying increases. The talk about battlefield victories diminishes and the talk about battlefield victory parties . . . with the women of the conquered increases.  
  
The men begin to boast about battlefield rapes that they have done. "Gang rapes are good for the men. It shows that they are men. It increases their virility and makes them stronger and better men." Yuki Shiba exclaims. (See authors' note) he thinks, 'plus it adds to group loyalty. Everybody will help and defend other members of the group. And it adds to group discipline as they line up to take their places.'  
  
Every man in the room loudly begins to agree with him. Although there is an argument between a couple of tables about which is better little girls or little boys.  
  
Inu-yasha hisses quietly to Kagome and Sango, who he can see are getting very mad, "You two have to agree, or they're going to ask questions. So yell a 'yes, sir' at him!"  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each other, grimace, but raise their sake cups and yell, "Yes, sir" "you're right, sir." They both quickly pull down their sake cups and, (by accident they'll swear), spill the sake on the pad beside them.  
  
"I will enjoy taking the shard from them." Kagome hisses as she glares about the room.  
  
Sango, her eyes measuring the men in the room for coffins, whispers. "When it comes to a fight," she says with a grim and foreboding grin on her face, "I will not pull my attacks." Both Inu-yasha and Miroku shudder at the tone in the voices of the two girls. 'I've been cursed at in nicer sounding tones.' Inu-yasha thinks.  
  
The sexual atmosphere of the room, helped, no doubt by the freely flowing sake, increases . . .  
  
But, as the members of each table start to concentrate on each other, that means that Inu-yasha and the group can finally start to whisper among themselves with some privacy.  
  
"What have done to your teeth, Inu-yasha?" Kagome whispers.  
  
He growls, "Had to fucking blacken my teeth for the disguise, woman." He growls again. "And who the fuck said you could come here?" his voice rises slightly.  
  
"Shhhh. Inu-yasha." Sango whispers, "we cannot have a fight between you two now."  
  
"Yes, please. We need to talk about leaving and soon. In a little while, if I am any judge of perversion, an orgy will start in this room. And our disguises cannot hold up during an orgy." Miroku adds.  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
Inu-yasha grimaces, "This ain't over, yet. But, I can wait on knowing why you bitches disobeyed orders and came here." Everybody growls at him, and he nods. A puzzled look appears on his face and he turns to the wall separating the main room from the room where the prince of the Yuki family went.  
  
"What, Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks, as she glances in that direction. The thin paper walls are showing a couple of silhouetted figures.  
  
Inu-yasha grins and he whispers to the group, "she's got her hooks into him something bad. He's giving her presents and she's still playing hard to get." A gleam appears in his eyes, "I'll never get it that bad," he whispers to himself, but everyone at the table can hear him.  
  
Kagome slowly shakes her head. 'I'll never treat you like that, you idiot . . . ' she thinks.  
  
He looks at the group and whispers, "he just mentioned a special jewel and once the family's plans work out, he'll shower her in gifts." He grins, "Sounds like the shard to me."  
  
Everybody nods. Sango whispers, "now that we are hired and part of the Yuki family, we'll be able to get into the household and getting the shard out will be a lot easier."  
  
Kagome nods vigorously in agreement. "And we can always say that you two, since we knew each other, decided to join us instead of staying here in this geisha house, that way everybody will be in the Yuki household." She adds. Miroku and Inu-yasha look at each other and grimace. They both share the same thought, 'The girls have come up with a plan . . . it'll be humiliating to continue these disguises, but . . . it gets everyone inside the compound.'  
  
"Ok, you bitches have convinced me." Inu-yasha growls, "now, how do we get out of here?"  
  
Everybody looks at each other and they look around.  
  
While they have been talking the rest of the room has degenerated into perversion, like Miroku predicted . . .  
  
At more than one table, they can see a geisha's head bobbing over the lap of a samurai. Many of the geisha's kimono's have loosened and their breasts are, at least partially, visible.  
  
Moans and groans float over the screen at one side of the room as a samurai and a geisha mate.  
  
They get up and while straightening their clothes, leave the screened area. "Who's next?" the samurai asks the room in general.  
  
"How about the new guys?" Someone in the room yells.  
  
The rest of the room quickly adds in their agreement to that suggestion.  
  
Kagome and Miroku look at the screened off area.  
  
Inu-yasha and Sango, also, look at it.  
  
They look at each other. A thought is shared among the four, 'we're in the wrong pairing . . . and since we've been in this pairing all night . . . it's too late to change partners.'  
  
Yuki Shiba walks over to the table. "It's your turn, men. Hojo, you can go first." He orders.  
  
One of the other geishas leaves the room while everyone attention is focused on the party.  
  
Kagome licks her lips and thinks, 'I can't do it. But, I must otherwise, tonight was wasted. Please, I pray, gods, please let somebody interrupt, even a fight with Kagura, right now, would be welcome.'  
  
Kagome slowly stands up and holds out her hand to Miroku, "Stand up, Sango. We've done this before, right? So, there is no reason why we can't do it again." She says. Miroku thinks, 'we can't waste tonight and all the humiliation that's happened. This is not quite the way I wanted her, but, it'll do.'  
  
Miroku stands up, "Yes, Hojo, sir. And it'll be nice to do it again."  
  
They start to walk toward the screened off area of the room.  
  
Miroku can see Kagome's lips twitch into a smile. He whispers, "why the smile?"  
  
"After the spring festival, I never thought, I'd do something like this in public, again. But, now . . . " Kagome whispers back. "Now, I'm beginning to wonder . . . "  
  
She thinks, 'At least this time, I'm on birth control, so that mess will not happen again . . . '  
  
Miroku and smiles back, "Orgies can be fun, I have offered before, if you remember."  
  
Kagome looks at him, and shakes her head no.  
  
They reach the screened off area and go behind the screen.  
  
Sango, in the meantime, has her hands on Inu-yasha and is holding him down by force. It looks, to the room, like Hajake is hugging her. Her strength, combined with the weakness Inu-yasha is suffering from, allows her to manhandle him with ease.  
  
"We can't interrupt, Inu-yasha. If we do, tonight is wasted." She hisses into his ear.  
  
"I know that, whore. I don't like this at all." He hisses back.  
  
"I don't like it either, Inu-yasha, but what can we do?"  
  
Inu-yasha bites his lips and shakes his head, "nothing."  
  
'I just wish Kagome wasn't so casual while she was walking behind the screen. And have they done it? Like they just said? When we leave this place . . . She's got a lot of questions to answer.' He thinks in anger.  
  
"Now, Sango, lay down and open up your kimono, so I can enter your jade gate. With my jade pestle. " Kagome says . . .  
  
The silhouette of Miroku lays down and the silhouette of Kagome moves on top of him . . .  
  
Authors' note: If I was evil . . . I'd stop the chapter now. 7,000 or so words are a good sized chapter. But . . . I'm not evil, so the chapter will continue . . .  
  
Authors' note: If I was writing a normal adventure of the party, something would happen now. Like Kagura, who I have introduced in the story and who can detect the shards that are in the room, should or would, show up and attack. The simple break down the door and take the shard's plan . . .  
  
But, I am not writing a normal adventure and I want to write a Miroku/Kagome and Inu-yasha/Sango scene, in character (I hope) so . . .  
  
Let's continue with the chapter . . .  
  
Kagome thinks, 'luckily our clothes will hide our body's silhouettes, so, they will not see my breasts, or his lack of them . . . ' She opens up her kimono. She looks around, listening.  
  
"Do it!" "Take her, Hojo!" "Who wants to make any bets about how long it'll take for him to come?"  
  
She blushes, obviously nothing is happening to stop them . . .  
  
Miroku reaches out and brushes her waist and her panties. "You or I?" he whispers.  
  
"I'll do it." She reaches down and pulls them down.  
  
"Do we give them a show?" he whispers.  
  
"What do you mean?" she whispers back.  
  
"How long do you want me to control myself? The longer I hold off, the better Hojo's reputation will be."  
  
Kagome grimaces, "As Hojo, I'll need the best reputation I can have, so . . . control yourself as long as possible."  
  
Miroku opens up his dress.  
  
Kagome moves on top of him.  
  
After a small amount of fumbling . . .  
  
Kagome begins to move up and down over Miroku . . .  
  
The room, watching their silhouette's, begins to cheer Hojo on . . .  
  
Inu-yasha turns away and he does not watch, although his ears can certainly hear every time flesh slaps flesh . . . Sango bites her lips, but she watches.  
  
The silhouette's move faster and faster . . . and moans and groans come from behind the screen . . .  
  
The room begins to cheer and praise Hojo for his stamina . . .  
  
Finally, after Miroku hears that at least a couple of bets on Hojo's stamina have been won . . . he releases his control . . .  
  
Kagome reaches down between them and then holds her slimy hand above the screen as proof of Hojo's manhood.  
  
The room cheers . . .  
  
"Was it good?" Miroku whispers.  
  
Kagome lifts herself off him and begins to move her forefinger across his chest.  
  
She whispers, "not really. Inu-yasha was much better during the spring festival." Miroku is about to reply, then he realizes that Kagome's is using her finger to write on his chest.  
  
She writes, {he can hear us.}  
  
Miroku draws in a deep breath and nods.  
  
{I really enjoyed it a lot.}  
  
Miroku whispers, "I can do it better, due to the audience I couldn't do everything I would have liked to have done to you."  
  
"Are you fishing for a repeat?"  
  
He raises his eyebrows, "what do you think?" he smirks.  
  
"No."  
  
She writes on his chest, {I will not hurt my friends.}  
  
Miroku nods. "Oh well, it never hurts to ask."  
  
"Oh, really, Miroku, as soon as we leave this building tonight . . . you'll see exactly how much it'll hurt." She smiles as she says this threat. "After I finish with you. Do you really think Inu-yasha or Sango will let this go without some reaction?"  
  
Miroku sighs . . . "poor me. I am always the victim and for what?"  
  
Kagome smiles, "you really don't want me to answer that one, Miroku."  
  
Miroku sighs . . .  
  
They stand up and straighten their clothes and leave the screened off area.  
  
"Your turn, Hajake." Yuki Shiba orders.  
  
'I've got to develop a reputation fast, so.' Sango thinks as she picks up Inu-yasha and carries him, bridal fashion to the screened off area. 'I'm very lucky that, by my cycle, I'm not fertile right now.'  
  
"What?" he hisses at her.  
  
"Play along, Inu-yasha." Sango hisses back. "I've got to acquire a reputation fast, and showing off like this is the best way I know how." They go behind the screened off area.  
  
"I'm going to lay down Kagome and let you do all the work." Sango says in a normal tone, so the room can hear. "So, get on top."  
  
The rest of the room begins to call encouragement to Hajake and Kagome. Similar to what they did with Hojo and Sango.  
  
Kagome thinks, 'I've got to do along, as well, so . . . ' She yells her encouragement and bets with a samurai about how long Hajake will last.  
  
Inu-yasha, opens his kimono, but hesitates to remove his loincloth. He looks at her, an embarrassed expression on his face.  
  
Sango, her kimono already open and her legs spread out, for him, raises her eyebrow. "My father knew that are demons that use sex, Inu-yasha. He made sure I was trained for everything." She whispers.  
  
"You're a half-dog demon, Inu-yasha. I know you're not a normal human male. Go ahead. I'm not going to say a word." She whispers.  
  
He quickly removes the loincloth and lays down on top of her, preventing her from seeing him, although she can feel his manhood pulse.  
  
"Miroku controlled himself to help Kagome's reputation. I'm going to do the same, Sango." He whispers into her ear. 'Besides, I want to make sure that I can last longer than him. Otherwise, he'll never let me live it down.' He thinks.  
  
Sango nods. "I was going to suggest that." She whispers.  
  
She, then, hisses in a louder tone, so everyone can hear. "Move your ass, bitch! I don't care if I am larger than most men, move it!"  
  
Inu-yasha smirks, but begins to move up and down over Sango . . .  
  
Miroku nudges Kagome, "Is she right?"  
  
Kagome looks a question at him.  
  
"About his size, he's never let anybody see it."  
  
"Oh, yes, she is correct." Kagome smiles as she remembers the spring festival . . .  
  
The moans and groans behind the screened area increase . . . The cries of encouragement from the room increases . . .  
  
Kagome wins her bet with the samurai next to her.  
  
Inu-yasha relaxes his control and collapses on top of Sango. 'That should do it.' He thinks.  
  
Sango reaches down and shows her slimy hand over the screens, proving Hajake's manhood to the cheers of the room.  
  
"Kagome is one very lucky woman." Sango whispers in Inu-yasha's ear as her arms hug him close.  
  
Inu-yasha grins. "Yeah. She just doesn't know it." He says without thinking . . .  
  
Sango tightens her grip on Inu-yasha, hugging him until it is painful . . .  
  
She hisses into his ear, "You idiot! She is the best thing that has ever happened to you." Her grip tightens and a grunt of pain escapes Inu-yasha's mouth as he stares into Sango's angry eyes.  
  
"You had better start treating her better, Inu-yasha. She is my best friend and I will not see her hurt by anyone, especially you." She growls at him.  
  
"One of these days, Inu-yasha, after you drive her off by being an arrogant, insulting idiot, I will corner you and I will beat you to a bloody pulp."  
  
Inu-yasha opens his mouth to protest, but . . .  
  
"I will not be half-dead. I will not be goaded and mind controlled into attacking you without a plan." Sango raises her head and her nose touches Inu-yasha's nose.  
  
"I have an ink bomb with your name on it. And while you are puking up your asshole . . . " She glares into his eyes.  
  
Inu-yasha swallows . . . and he looks away, twisting his head. 'Sesshomaru's eyes have looked at me kinder than that look in her eyes.' He thinks.  
  
Sango releases him. She whispers, "I'm not going to ask if you understand me or not, Inu-yasha. Your actions will tell me that."  
  
Inu-yasha nods, licks his lips and whispers, "we need to get up and get out of here."  
  
Sango nods. They stand up and straighten their clothes.  
  
They leave the screened off area and another couple takes their place.  
  
They sit back down with Kagome and Miroku.  
  
Inu-yasha hisses. "We've got to get out of here."  
  
Kagome nods, "I just thought up a way."  
  
Everyone looks at her. Her blushes, "It just occurred to me, Ok. Otherwise, I'd have used it earlier." She whispers.  
  
"Do it." Inu-yasha orders.  
  
Kagome looks at Sango and Miroku, and both of them nod, quickly.  
  
Kagome licks her lips, glances around, and sees that everyone is cheering on the couple behind the screens, not looking at them.  
  
She sticks her forefinger down her throat and throws up all over the table.  
  
Everyone at the table gets splashed with either the food on the table, or her vomit.  
  
"Shit! Why didn't you warn us?!" Inu-yasha yells.  
  
Everyone in the room looks over at the table. Sango quickly moves over to Kagome and says to the room, "He never could hold his sake."  
  
'Please, gods, please let them be so drunk they won't notice the change between the voice that yelled and my voice.' She thinks.  
  
Yuki Shiba comes over to investigate and he nods, 'Yes, A lot of small men like him have problems. Just not big enough to handle it.'  
  
Serval geishas come over and begin to clean up the area.  
  
"Lord, I need to drag him to the room we've rented." Sango tells Yuki Shiba.  
  
He nods.  
  
"I do know where the Yuki family compound is, we'll be over tomorrow." She adds.  
  
"Good enough, Hajake. You may leave." He says.  
  
Sango and Kagome, after grabbing a couple of towels and somewhat cleaning up, leave the room.  
  
Miroku and Inu-yasha, also with dirty dresses, bow to Yuki Shiba, "we need get cleaned up." Miroku says. He nods and gestures them out of the room. Inu-yasha and Miroku catch up with Sango and Kagome in the corridor outside the room. Inu-yasha whispers, harshly. "We'll be out quickly. Don't leave."  
  
Kagome and Sango nod in agreement.  
  
They leave the tea house.  
  
"Do you think I ruined my reputation, with that?" Kagome whispers to Sango as they wait on the boys outside.  
  
There is, even at this late hour of the night, a lot of foot traffic in the streets, so whispering is the only way to have a private conversation.  
  
Sango shrugs. "I don't know. Hopefully they were all so drunk they won't remember, but, you'd better be prepared to take some ribbing over it." A pause. "And be asked to drink a lot of sake."  
  
Kagome grimaces, "which I'm have to drink to prove that I'm a man."  
  
Sango nods.  
  
"Male egos are wonderful things . . . " Kagome says in a disgusted tone of voice. Sango nods in agreement . . .  
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku, back in their male clothes, leave the tea house. Some of the make-up is still on them, they just splashed their faces and rubbed off what they could quickly. Miroku has forgotten about the orchid in his hair. Inu-yasha's hair is also a mess, as he just ripped out the combs and threw them on the ground. But he, of course, did remember his sword.  
  
"Let's find somewhere private. Before we say anything." Sango growls to everyone as the boys approach.  
  
Everybody nods.  
  
The end chapter 11  
  
I am sorry if this offended people, especially the pure inu/kag readers, but . . . I like writing what I've never seen before and Miroku/Kagome and Inu-yasha/Sango are pairings you don't see all that often. So, I think the conversation that's about to happen will be unique . . .  
  
But . . . this has got them into the Yuki family compound and that will allow me to write about life from the POV of the rich and powerful in Kyoto . . .  
  
The "Gang rape statements"  
  
I used it before in the story "what to do about evil?" I am repeating here, because it was a very common attitude among samurai. The specifics of the reference is:  
  
is from the following article for the Japan times on June 28, 2003.  
  
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday condemned remarks by Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Seiichi Ota, who said that gang raping women by youngsters is evidence of their virility.  
  
Ota, former head of the Management and Coordination Agency, reportedly told a seminar in Kagoshima Prefecture on Thursday that young men are becoming weak and lack the courage to propose marriage.  
  
"Those who gang rape are better off because they have virility. They are closer to normal," Ota was quoted as saying in media reports on the seminar, which dealt with the nation's declining birthrate.  
  
Ota made the statement as participants were discussing the arrest last week of five university students for allegedly gang raping a 20-year-old female student after a party.  
  
http:www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20030628a1.htm  
  
My posting schedule . . . After this, I'm going back to "Kagome! Where are you?!" I'll probably start working on ch 12 of "a shard in Kyoto" in late Feb (after the 22nd maybe). (hopefully I'll get chapter 12 out in Feb, but it might be early march)  
  
But trying to get the conversation about the geisha house right will be a challenge. But then again, that's why I did it. So . . . I can see if I'm a good enough writer to pull that off . . .  
  
Why not continue with shard? And why continue with Kagome! Where are you?  
  
Judging by the hit counts: there is about 600 to 1200 readers of "Kagome where are you." There is only 300 to 150 readers of "A Shard in Kyoto" On the other hand for every 70 or so hits of Shard, somebody reviews the story. It's about 110 hits per review on Kagome! Where are you!.  
  
(The ranges on my stories, in case anybody is interested, Spring fertility festival is the worst 200 hits per review. Kagome's new baby brother, Kirara, and Rabbit season are the best at 25 hits per review. The average, all stories, all hits, all reviews are about 125 hits per review. Fanfiction.net stats.)  
  
I do have corrected version of Chapter 2 in my possession (thank you Nuala), I will correct and repost ch 2 in a couple of days (by Sunday at the latest)  
  
Something for the pure Inu-yasha and Kagome fans. Readers of "Kagome! Where are you!" should not read the rest of this, it will contain spoilers for that storyline. But, if you are a pure inu/kag fan and you have NOT read "Kagome! Where are you" you probably will need to read the stuff below.  
  
S  
  
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Kagome where are you is kag/Sess. BUT that does not mean I'm having her stop loving Inu-yasha. One of the things that always happens is that everyone writes her love as an either/or, never both . . . (and her heart is big enough to love both, in my opinion.)  
  
So . . . when Kagome! Where are you!? Is finished . . . If everything works right . . . I will have a stable Inu-yasha-Kagome-Sesshomaru triangle. First I have to create a Kagome/Sesshomaru bond and that is what I'm doing now in the story. Yes, I know there will be problems. (Both boys are very damn possessive, mainly) but that is the challenge. Can I do it?  
  
So, if you are ignoring that story just because its not pure Inu-kag . . . Sooner or later in my other stories, I will be using "Kagome where are you" and that will mean I will be using that triangle . . .  
  
I am sorry if this offends any pure Inu-yasha/Kagome fan, I love the paring myself. But, as I said earlier, I like writing challenges and a stable inu/kag/sess triangle will be a challenge . . .  
  
Thank you for reading jeff shelton 


	12. the conversation

A Shard in Kyoto chapter 12: the conversation . . .  
  
I recently did a story called: "When friends find out Spring Fertility festival" . . . in it, Kagome and her 3 modern friends talk about sex . . . so, if you are confused about some of the things Kagome says in this chapter, please read that story, because in it, I try to explain what has been happening to her sexual mores over the last few months . . .  
  
The group, the members of which are being unusually quite, stalks away from Kyoto's pleasure quarters. Normally there is some banter between the party members while they are walking as a group, but, not tonight . . .  
  
Inu-yasha, dressed as an old man, carrying his sword is leading the group through the night of Kyoto. Behind him is Kagome, who is dressed as man, with a bow and sword. Miroku, dressed in his traditional clothes, but with his hand still bandaged, follows her.  
  
And while Miroku's eyes follow Kagome's rear as she walks in front of him, he does make sure that there is plenty of space between them. 'Tonight, especially, after the last few hours, if I try anything with Kagome . . . Inu-yasha is just barely hanging onto his temper . . . ' Miroku thinks as walks  
  
Bringing up the rear, is Sango, also dressed as a man, her eyes scan around making sure that the thieves and muggers of Kyoto don't sneak up on them, and making sure that Miroku keeps his distance from Kagome. 'I don't like what he did tonight, but . . . Inu-yasha's temper being what it is. I would rather have a live Miroku than a dead one.' She thinks.  
  
After about fifteen minutes of apparently random wandering, a group of about a dozen men steps out of the shadows. All of them are armed with swords and/or clubs.  
  
One of them hisses at Inu-yasha, "Hand over your valuables and we'll let you live."  
  
Inu-yasha looks at the man. A beat up, scruffy man, his eyes flick across him and then across the other muggers. In a voice full of the promise of death, he smiles, and states, "Thank you. Just what I was looking for . . . a bunch of dead idiots."  
  
He moves, attacking them with his claws . . .  
  
They die . . . screaming . . .  
  
Kagome grimaces, 'I don't like this . . . but. The only way to stop him would be to sit him. And they would kill him before we could stop them. So . . . '  
  
Nobody in any of the nearby houses stirs . . . A minute later, a blood covered, limping, but smiling Inu-yasha walks up to Kagome.  
  
"Now that you've worked off the edge of your anger, could you, please, find us somewhere, so we can talk?" Kagome asks, as she looks at him.  
  
"Whore." Inu-yasha grumbles as he stares at Kagome.  
  
"DO you want it to start now?" Kagome's voice is ice cold.  
  
Inu-yasha takes a deep breath, glances at Miroku and Sango, he snarls. "That." He points to a nearby dark house. "Is where they lived. It's empty now. We'll use it."  
  
Kagome nods, "thank you, Inu-yasha." She walks past him, ignoring him.  
  
They walk into the house. Sango locates a lamp and lights it. She lights a couple of other nearby lamps. The room, and house for that matter, is cluttered with junk and trash. There are some women's clothes in the mess, apparently there were women in the house when the fight with Inu-yasha started, but they all ran during the fight . . .  
  
Miroku and Kagome, somewhat violently, throw the trash out and clean up an area in the middle of the largest room.  
  
All four members of the group stand in the middle of the room, and they look at each other.  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"You fucking whore . . . " Inu-yasha begins, growling at Kagome, "How many times have you and the damn pervert fucked each other."  
  
Kagome takes a deep breath and in chilling voice that Naraku would be proud of, she states, "You, Inu-yasha, are an even worse idiot than I ever thought you were."  
  
Inu-yasha moves to stand nose to nose with Kagome, staring her in the eyes.  
  
She stares back into his reddening eyes, unflinching.  
  
"You two . . . tonight." Inu-yasha growls, "That conversation you had while you were . . . you two had to have fucked each other before tonight."  
  
Kagome moves her hand under her kimono and shoves her slimy fingers under Inu-yasha's nose. Inu-yasha twitches, pulling away from her hand. "Stupid! There is no way I could hide this from that nose." She states in an angry voice.  
  
"If I had slept with anyone . . . during the entire time, you've known me . . . If I had . . . you'd have smelled this. Have you smelled this on me, before?" She hisses that angry question at Inu-yasha.  
  
Inu-yasha snarls, "Yeah, I have whore."  
  
Kagome goes white, with anger, "Tell me when, Inu-yasha. I'd really like to know . . . " She screams, "Because, before tonight, I haven't fucked anyone but you!"  
  
Miroku coughs.  
  
Everyone looks at him.  
  
"I must apologize, Lady Kagome."  
  
"Huh?" total and absolute surprise is in Kagome's voice . . .  
  
"Once." Miroku looks at Inu-yasha. "And only once, I made a mistake and I allowed my lust for you to overwhelm my good sense."  
  
"Explain." Kagome's voice is freezing the room.  
  
Miroku sighs, "I did, only on one occasion, use one of your panties."  
  
Kagome interrupts. "You jacked off into my panties!" She screams, pushing Inu-yasha aside to stand in front of Miroku.  
  
Miroku nods, his head bowed. "It was before Lady Sango joined our group. I have no excuse other than . . . your beauty overwhelmed my good sense."  
  
Kagome slaps him, hard, across the face.  
  
"If you wish to punish me harder, you may do so." Miroku is looking at the ground as he says this. "I will accept it as my penance for my mistake."  
  
"Later." Kagome growls at Miroku, and spins to Inu-yasha.  
  
"Was he telling the truth?" She asks.  
  
Inu-yasha's eyes flick between Miroku and Kagome. "Yeah, I've smelled his musk before, not often, the occasional wet dream."  
  
Miroku nods, accepting that as a fact. "But only once on our clothes." He pauses. "At the time . . . I couldn't figure out how you two did it. I had been watching you the whole time . . . then you come back from changing in the woods, and I was watching the pervert all during that time, and your panties smelled like him."  
  
"So . . . is he telling the truth?" Kagome asks in a tight voice. A pause.  
  
"Inu-yasha." Kagome begins to speak in a low, heart felt voice. "I'll tell you right now, if I have to use your necklace tonight . . . I will not be held responsible for my actions."  
  
Kagome and Inu-yasha stare into each other's eyes.  
  
Inu-yasha, looks away, "That was the only other time, I've smelled him on you."  
  
Kagome, Sango and Miroku sigh in relief . . .  
  
Inu-yasha, snaps his attention back to Kagome, and spits out, "I've also smelled Kouga on you."  
  
"What?!" Kagome screams!  
  
"Inu-yasha." Sango interrupts in a tight voice. "Don't go there."  
  
Inu-yasha turns to Sango and growls at her.  
  
"You know, as well as I do, what Kouga is doing." Sango states, her voice full of confidence. "He is jacking off and then grabbing Kagome spreading his scent onto her."  
  
"That's why, sometimes, his hands are sweaty?" Kagome asks.  
  
Sango nods. "I didn't want to mention it, Kagome. It's embarrassing, and he's just doing it to try to place his scent on you to goad Inu-yasha."  
  
"And to claim her as his on." Inu-yasha growls.  
  
"Nobody is claiming me, like some prize." Kagome growls in angry, then she continues, "Well. We'll see about that." Kagome growls. "Next time I see Kouga . . . he's going to answer some very pointed questions."  
  
"Every time you've smelled him on her, Inu-yasha, it's always been on her outer clothes, never her panties, right?" Sango says in a sure tone of voice.  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"Well. There was one time . . . " Inu-yasha begins. "That time I slapped him and asked him if he was taking lessons from Miroku, right?" Kagome interrupts.  
  
Inu-yasha nods.  
  
Kagome frowns, "But. You saw him put his hands on my legs and rub my thighs . . . so that's why you went ballistic then . . . " Inu-yasha growls. "Yeah, that's the time."  
  
"Inu-yasha." Kagome begins, in a totally different tone of voice, a sickly sweet tone. "The next time Kouga and you get into a fight . . . " her eyes narrow. "Let me kiss you, for luck, in front of him, please? Just a peck on the check, that's all I'm asking . . . "  
  
Inu-yasha smiles, "Yeah, I'll remember."  
  
They share a small smile. "And when he's on the ground, beaten, I would like a few minutes alone with him." Kagome requests.  
  
Inu-yasha nods.  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"So. Inu-yasha," Kagome asks, again in that freezing voice, "What exactly caused you to believe that before tonight I had slept with any man?"  
  
Inu-yasha's eyes flick to each side. "Now, Inu–yasha." Kagome growls.  
  
"Remember that fight with the demon bear and the demonic honeybees that had the shard we took from them?" Inu-yasha asks.  
  
"Yes. I remember." Kagome replies, rubbing her left arm. It still remembers that bee sting. Her arm was in bad shape until they could get to Keade to heal it. "I went home as soon as my arm was healed." She frowns, "If you thought that when that bear had me trapped . . . I mean, yes, he was licking me, but I was covered in honey . . . "  
  
Inu-yasha growls, "Not that shit. I ripped his heart out for that. No. When you came back . . . I could smell two men on you."  
  
Everyone looks at Kagome. Kagome blinks, obviously confused and trying to think . . .  
  
She frowns, but brightens when she remembers that week, "I thought . . . I had thought that I told mom to destroy those panties. I didn't want you to think I'd been with any boys."  
  
"Hah! You admit it!" Inu-yasha yells in triumph. "Inu-yasha . . . " Kagome growls. "You are jumping to the wrong conclusion!"  
  
"Then, whore, tell me the truth!" Inu-yasha yells in her face.  
  
Kagome grabs his hair and pulls him down to her level. "The truth . . . Fine, your not going to believe it. You've obviously decided that I'm a whore and that I'm lying to you. But. I'll tell you the truth, Inu-yasha." She says in a quiet deadly voice. "Then. Inu-yasha. You'll have to make a choice."  
  
A pause . . .  
  
Kagome remembers as she speaks, "That week, during archery practice, a couple of boys broke into the girl's locker room. IT was some sort of dare, I think, I never really cared enough to find out for sure. Anyway, they gathered up all the panties that they could find, piled them up and jacked off onto them. One of the girls sprung her wrist and interrupted them before they could get dressed."  
  
Kagome's mouth twitches. "If the coach hadn't been there . . . "  
  
Her mouth straightens, "I knew that you'd smell them on those panties and I told, or rather I thought I told mom to destroy them." Her mouth twitches again, "I probably forgot to tell her, since it was close to midterms and I was having test after test, trying to catch up."  
  
A pause. "That, Inu-yasha, is the truth." Her voice is ice cold.  
  
'Hmmm . . . now that I think about it . . . both those boys, after I visited Inu-yasha, had accidents, bad accidents. Broken legs and arms, I forget exactly which.' Kagome thinks as she glares at Inu-yasha. 'I had thought that Akemi's, who also got her panties abused by them, older brother, who is supposed to have Yakuza connections, did that, but now . . . '  
  
'That's, basically, what those assholes told me as I was breaking them.' Inu-yasha thinks.  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"Now Inu-yasha. You have a choice. Either, I'm a whore, in which case, why in the hell are you upset that I'm sleeping with anyone? Or I am not a whore, in which case, Inu-yasha, you will apologize to me, now." Kagome's voice is raw with emotion.  
  
A pause. Inu-yasha eyes flick to Miroku. "NO! Look at me!" Kagome grabs his hair and smashes their noses together. "Answer me!" She screams!  
  
Inu-yasha licks his lips, "Ah. Feh. You're not a whore, ok?" he whispers.  
  
"That, Inu-yasha, is not an apology." Kagome states in a no-nonsense voice. She releases his hair and steps back, watching him.  
  
Inu-yasha swallows. "Ah. You know I'm not good."  
  
"No excuses." She interrupts in an abrupt tone.  
  
Inu-yasha rubs his chin, trying to think. Sango moves into his line of sight behind Kagome. She bends her knees. He swallows.  
  
Inu-yasha bends down and goes down to one-knee. He gently takes Kagome's right hand and holds it. "Kagome." He starts, but stops.  
  
"Yes, Inu-yasha?" She replies in a much better tone of voice.  
  
He licks his lips, takes a deep breath, looking at the ground, he starts to speak in a low voice, "Kagome. I... Dammit. Kagome. I apologize. You are not A.. You are not a whore. I... I'm sorry."  
  
Kagome reaches out with her left hand and gently lifts Inu-yasha head up, so she can see his eyes. "Are you really sorry?"  
  
A pause . . . as they stare at each other's eyes . . .  
  
"Yes." A pause and he continues, "I should have . . . "  
  
"You should have asked me about this a long time ago, Inu-yasha. IF you had, this wouldn't have built into this huge of a fight, you know."  
  
"Yeah." He shrugs. "It's just."  
  
"Inu-yasha." Kagome bends down so they are looking at each other at the same level. "I'll make you a deal, you tell me when things are wrong and I will tell you the truth." A pause. "Deal?"  
  
"Deal."  
  
Kagome smiles and hugs Inu-yasha. "Thank you." She whispers.  
  
He hugs her back. "I just . . . Miroku. You were so . . . " He whispers.  
  
Kagome releases him and stands up, and Inu-yasha stands up, also.  
  
Kagome looks at Miroku and smiles. Inu-yasha growls. Sango frowns.  
  
Kagome turns to Inu-yasha, she frowns at the growl, but in a reasonable tone asks, "what else was I supposed to do, Inu-yasha?" Without giving him a chance to respond, she continues, "If I had yelled, I can't fuck him, I'm a girl. That would have blown the entire evening. If I had yelled, I want you instead, and we needed to switch partners . . . that would have made the boss even more suspicious than he was . . . and that would have blown the evening. I didn't see where I had any other choice, but to act like a man."  
  
She pauses, taking a deep breath, "And that meant fucking Miroku . . . and visibly enjoying it. So I could pass as a man. So, Inu-yasha, tell me what else was I supposed to do? And explain to me why you didn't do it with Sango?"  
  
Inu-yasha takes a deep breath, pauses, looks at Sango, look at Miroku. 'No help from either one.' He thinks.  
  
And . . .  
  
He opens and closes his mouth. "Why didn't you think about throwing up earlier?"  
  
"Why didn't you?"  
  
Inu-yasha growls.  
  
Kagome frowns, "besides, Inu-yasha, why are you so upset, Miroku and I don't love each other, all we did was playact in front of them. That was Hojo and the geisha Sango fucking, not Kagome and Miroku."  
  
Miroku clears his throat again.  
  
Inu-yasha growls, deep in his chest.  
  
Sango looks at him, with a horrified expression on her face.  
  
Kagome twirls to look at him, her face white. "Don't tell me . . . "  
  
She frowns, narrows her eyes, "You better not come up with some cockeyed speech that as a Buddhist monk you love everyone, Miroku. That's not what I meant. And you know it." A pause, "and if you do, I want to hear you say that you also love Naraku."  
  
Miroku's mouth twitches, "you know me well, Lady Kagome." He nods his head at her.  
  
"You live with a person long enough, Miroku . . . " she states. He nods again.  
  
"Answer her question, monk." Sango requests in a low emotionless voice.  
  
Miroku looks at Sango and nods. He turns to Kagome, bows, and begins to speak, "In all my travels, I have met only two women that I would want to marry, Lady Kagome. You are one of them."  
  
Inu-yasha growls, and moves between Miroku and Kagome, he flexes his claws.  
  
Kagome swallows hard, "I. I didn't know, Miroku."  
  
Her eyes flick to Sango, who is gripping her sword hilt. Her fist is white, from the pressure she is applying to the hilt.  
  
"You said two." Kagome whispers. Miroku swallows and nods, "yes, Lady Kagome." He sighs, "And as much as I want to tell you that you are my first choice, I must state that you are not my first choice."  
  
"And that first choice is?" Sango interrupts in that same emotionless voice.  
  
Miroku pauses. "Is in this room."  
  
Sango releases her sword hilt.  
  
"Miroku . . . you know I." Kagome begins.  
  
Miroku sighs, "I know. I am not the person that you love."  
  
Kagome nods, "yes. You're not." She sighs. "Although, I do like you a lot, Miroku."  
  
Inu-yasha growls.  
  
Kagome, still looking at Miroku, growls back, "Inu-yasha, shut up."  
  
Kagome, turns to Inu-yasha narrowing her eyes as she does. "Although . . . Miroku, while you are not my first choice . . . Of all the men in my life, except one, you would be my best choice."  
  
Miroku swallows. "Thank you, Lady Kagome."  
  
"You mean that, Kagome." Sango whispers.  
  
"He's not my first choice, Sango. You know that."  
  
Sango nods.  
  
"But . . . compared to Hojo or Kouga, he's better than either of them." Miroku raises his eyebrows, "Thank you for the compliment, Lady Kagome."  
  
"Bitch . . . " Inu-yasha growls.  
  
Kagome's glares at Inu-yasha, "I am telling you the truth about my feelings toward Miroku. So . . . this fight will not happen again. Do I make myself clear, Inu-yasha?" She asks in a deadly tone.  
  
"Feh." He replies.  
  
"Hrmph. That better be a yes." She turns to Miroku, "Miroku. I like you, a lot. More, then any other man I've ever met."  
  
Inu-yasha growls. "So. Inu-yasha, are you a man or a half-demon? You're always telling me that you are not a man. And . . . since you are not a man, Miroku, then, becomes the most important man in my life." Kagome says in a low sweet voice.  
  
Inu-yasha blinks in confusion . . .  
  
She looks at Miroku. "I'd trust you with my life and my soul." Her mouth twitches, "Not my body, though."  
  
Miroku's mouth twitches. "Thank you, Lady Kagome. Although, I must protest. You can trust me with your body."  
  
"Only if I want sex." Kagome replies to his protest.  
  
"You know me well."  
  
"Everyone in this room knows that, Monk." Sango interrupts.  
  
Kagome, after a pause as everyone nods at Sango, "Compared to Hojo, you have a backbone." Kagome says, "And I do enjoy a fight."  
  
Everyone snorts suppressing a laugh.  
  
"As far as Kouga goes . . . I value education."  
  
Everyone nods.  
  
"And . . . once you stop talking about Naraku and ways to kill him, the weather, and maybe sex, Kouga's ability to handle a conversation, well . . . is a touch lacking." Kagome mouth twitches, "And well, I can't talk to you about the hard sciences, like math or biology, which I don't like anyway, but on the other stuff, we can talk and I have enjoyed our conversations."  
  
Miroku nods. "I especially enjoyed that conversation about The Tale of Genji: the Shining Price."  
  
Kagome smiles, "got an A on that report, because of you."  
  
Inu-yasha growls. He is remembering all the nights when Kagome is studying, especially about history or literature, and Kagome and Miroku's friendly conversations, while, of course, they are seated far apart . . .  
  
Sango nods, also remembering those conversations.  
  
Kagome turns to Inu-yasha. "Miroku is the best male human friend I have, Inu-yasha. Nothing more. But . . . I told you I'd be honest about my feeling toward him, so, Inu-yasha . . . You know me, so tell me, if I see anybody suffering, don't I try to comfort them?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"The nights Miroku watches up, shuddering, staring at his hand, from his nightmare . . . Do you know how hard it is for me to ignore him on those nights and not comfort him, Inu-yasha?" Kagome continues, not giving him a chance to talk.  
  
"I want to comfort him, Inu-yasha. And if it takes him groping me, to cheer him up, I'd do it. But, I don't comfort him because I know that you'd dislike it and I'd not think that Sango would like it, either."  
  
"Kagome." Sango begins to speak.  
  
Kagome turns to her. "Yes, Sango."  
  
"You'll know he'll grope you."  
  
Kagome shrugs, "If my choice is watching him shudder in fear, or ignore his hand on my rear. I'll ignore his hand."  
  
Miroku smiles, lecherously.  
  
Kagome turns to him, "Of course, Miroku, if you try to take advantage of this confession of mine . . . " Her fist balls.  
  
He sighs, "In my dreams, lady Kagome . . . "  
  
"It better stay in those dreams."Both Sango and Inu-yasha say as they growl.  
  
He sighs, "All I am is being honest and truthful, the way a monk is supposed to be. And, nobody trusts me." Sigh.  
  
Sango growls, "I trust you, Monk, as long as I can see those hands."  
  
A pause as Sango and Kagome smile at each other and Miroku mumbles, "woe is me . . . "  
  
"Is that it, Kagome?" Inu-yasha asks.  
  
A pause as Kagome thinks . . .  
  
"I said that I would be truthful, Inu-yasha." Kagome replies. She goes over to Inu-yasha and grabs his hands. She places his hands on her shoulders next to her neck. "And, Inu-yasha, I trust you." A pause as they stare into each other eyes.  
  
"There are times, when, yes, my body does react to Miroku's groping." Inu- yasha's hand grip Kagome's shoulders. "If I said anything else, you'd know I was lying, you can smell my body's reaction."  
  
A pause.  
  
Kagome's mouth twitches, "And I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't enjoy the fucking Miroku tonight." Inu-yasha hands twitch, gripping her shoulders harder.  
  
"And . . . Between the spring festival and reading I-shin-po, I, now, believe Miroku was telling the truth when he said that my powers can be improved by having sex."  
  
Miroku smiles.  
  
"You'd better wipe that off, before Inu-yasha notices." Sango says to him in a hissing whisper.  
  
A pause. Kagome's hands reach up to Inu-yasha's face, and softly brush his check, "Miroku, no doubt, would be the best teacher for those lessons." Inu- yasha's hands move to her neck, as they move, they leave red marks on her shoulders.  
  
"But, Inu-yasha, the teacher I'd want for those lessons . . . is you." She whispers, tears in her eyes.  
  
They stare into each other's eyes.  
  
Inu-yasha licks his lips, "You don't need that, Kagome. You're powerful enough as it is."  
  
Kagome smiles, "thank you for the compliment, Inu-yasha."  
  
Inu-yasha frowns and he thinks, 'I did just compliment her . . . damn mouth . . . speaking before I could think.'  
  
"May I hug you?" Kagome whispers as her hands go around him.  
  
Inu-yasha hands leave her throat and circle her.  
  
They hug . . .  
  
Inu-yasha whispers, "I was soo . . . "  
  
Kagome whispers, "Inu-yasha, don't ever be afraid that'll leave you over sex . . . my body is one thing. My heart is another."  
  
They slowly bend down and gently slide to the ground, continuing to hug each other and move their hands over each others body. They are so totally involved in each other . . . that . . .  
  
they ignore . . .  
  
Sango and Miroku look at each other and smile. "It's nice when they share a sweet moment like this." Miroku whispers.  
  
Sango nods.  
  
"Did you enjoy him?" Miroku asks.  
  
Sango swallows, and whispers, "yes. Kagome is a very lucky woman." A pause. "There is no need to ask you, the same question is there?"  
  
Miroku's grins, "Oh, I've had professionals that were better, but . . . she's responds so naturally . . . "  
  
"Lech." Sango growls.  
  
He sighs and then he asks, "Is tonight going to affect?" he points to himself and to Sango.  
  
"I do not know." Sango whispers. "Oh, I like Inu-yasha, but I'm not going to try to steal him from Kagome. Never. Kagome is my best friend and I'll never do that to her."  
  
Miroku nods. Sango sighs, "we . . . " She grimaces, "our relationship is so . . . "  
  
"Unspoken." Miroku supplies helpfully.  
  
Sango nods. "I shouldn't have been jealous of her. Tonight was something unplanned and unexpected. And I know she'll never leave Inu-yasha for you." A pause. "Well . . . If he really leaves with Kikyo." She shakes her head. "Even then, he'll leave her, not the other way around."  
  
Miroku nods. 'I have thought about approaching her after those fights with Inu-yasha. But she normally runs home . . . and . . . I respect her enough that taking advantage of her like that . . . just doesn't feel right.' He thinks.  
  
Sango's eyes narrow, "you do know, Monk, that tonight was a unique occurrence and if you try to use it . . . " Her fist bunches.  
  
Miroku sighs, "All I want to do is help Lady Kagome and yourself, Lady Sango, to enjoy yourselves, is that wrong?"  
  
Sango shakes her head, "put it that way, no, monk."  
  
Miroku smiles.  
  
She continues, "But, neither of us like being groped and treated as object for your lusts."  
  
Miroku sighs, "If only you'd give me a chance . . . "  
  
Sango and Miroku stare into each other's eyes.  
  
A pause . . .  
  
Sango glaces at Kagome and Inu-yasha, who, while they are still entangled in each arms, they are glancing at Sango and Miroku.  
  
Sango blushes red.  
  
"You had an interesting thought, just then, didn't you, Lady Sango." Miroku purrs.  
  
Sango's eyes narrow and she nods, "perhaps, Monk." She sighs, 'and we've done it before in front of each other, so.' She thinks.  
  
She looks at Miroku, obviously thinking about something hard . . .  
  
"Monk, you know that one of the reasons, in addition to what I've just mentioned, that I've always said no to you before . . . is my desire to have no children until Naraku is dead."  
  
Miroku stands straight up, and nods. 'She thinking about it . . . seriously . . . don't mess this up . . . ' him thinks.  
  
Sango sighs, "tonight." She brushes her hand at her groin. "There is seed within me."  
  
She pauses, and she whispers in a low voice . . . "I . . . If I'm going to have a child. I would want it to be yours."  
  
Miroku smiles and approaches Sango. He takes both of her hands into both of his hands. 'I've got to make sure one of them, doesn't mess this up.' he thinks. He goes down to one knee in front of Sango.  
  
"I would be honored, Lady Sango." He smiles, "And I'm sure my seed is stronger than Inu-yasha's"  
  
"In your dreams." Inu-yasha interrupts. "Shhhh." Kagome flicks his ear. "Let them talk. Don't interrupt."  
  
Sango and Miroku ignore the other two and look into each other's eyes.  
  
"Just tonight." Sango whispers. "Special circumstances."  
  
Miroku sighs, "Just tonight." He smiles, "And this time, no gods to interfere so . . . I can show you exactly how good a lover I am."  
  
Miroku stands up and embraces Sango.  
  
Sango's body stiffens as he gropes her, but . . . she relaxes . . .  
  
Miroku and Sango bend down and they slowly slide to the ground . . . Miroku's hands roaming over her body . . . Sango's hands roaming over his body . . .  
  
Kagome whispers to Inu-yasha, "let me look at that leg of yours, now."  
  
Kagome thinks, 'please, let's see what I can do to give them some privacy.'  
  
"It's healing." Inu-yasha whispers.  
  
"Inu-yasha. I care about you, ok. And I'm going to look at that leg." Kagome's eyes twinkle, "Even if I have to use that necklace to do it." Inu-yasha grins, sighs, and shifts his clothes so Kagome can look at his leg.  
  
Kagome frowns. "You might think you're healing, Inu-yasha, but . . . your leg doesn't know it." She rips some of her clothes off and wraps it around the sword wound. "As soon as I can, I've got to examine your body."  
  
Her eyes flick up his body, pausing at his groin, as she realizes that between the hug, the talk and her cleaning and bandaging his leg . . . Inu- yasha's manhood is reacting.  
  
Her eyes go to his face.  
  
They stare into each other eyes . . .  
  
"Kagome?" Inu-yasha whispers.  
  
"Yes. Do you think we should leave?" Kagome asks, as she thinks again about giving Miroku and Sango some privacy.  
  
Inu-yasha ignores that question, and says, "You know . . . explaining Miroku seed on you to Shippo . . . " Kagome pales. "I never thought about that." She whispers. 'He would be able to smell it.' She thinks.  
  
Inu-yasha's hand moves down and gropes Kagome's rear. "However . . . if there was two scents on you . . . "  
  
Kagome reaches down and rubs Inu-yasha's manhood. "You just want to mask it with yours."  
  
Inu-yasha growls. "Does it matter, why?"  
  
A pause . . . Kagome flicks her eyes to Miroku and Sango, who have paused and they are looking at her and Inu-yasha.  
  
"No." Kagome whispers. "And . . . If we stay together . . . that would be safer. Who knows if the muggers had any friends?"  
  
"Yeah." Inu-yasha whispers as his hands begin to untie Kagome's clothes.  
  
'Plus. If we're together. Sango and I can help each other, if the boys get out of control . . . ' Kagome thinks. She hands begin to untie Inu-yasha's clothes.  
  
She looks around. She places her hand on Inu-yasha's hands, stopping him.  
  
He looks at her in confusion. 'I can smell her desire. It's even stronger than when she was behind the screen . . . so why?' he thinks.  
  
Kagome whispers into his ear, "One of these days, Inu-yasha . . . I have a dream about you sweeping me off my feet and taking me to a beautiful, peaceful meadow, with a pretty waterfall nearby . . . One of these days, Inu-yasha . . . I'd really like you to be romantic."  
  
Inu-yasha whispers back, "I am what I am, Kagome. You know I don't like that mushy stuff."  
  
Kagome replies, "I know that Inu-yasha, I'd just like you to try it, if only once."  
  
Inu-yasha growls, deep in his throat. "Maybe, bitch, but not tonight." His head goes to her breasts as he flicks her clothes off her.  
  
She holds him to her breasts, playing with his ears.  
  
She spreads her clothes on the floor. Inu-yasha rises on top of her . . .  
  
His hips begin to move up and down over her . . .  
  
Miroku and Sango stop paying attention to Kagome and Inu-yasha.  
  
"Well?" Sango asks.  
  
"If I've only tonight . . . " Miroku kisses Sango. "Let's use it."  
  
Sango spreads her clothes on the floor.  
  
Miroku rises on top of her . . .  
  
His hips begin to move up and down over her . . .  
  
Moans of pleasure . . . fill the room . . .  
  
Later . . . sunrise.  
  
Kagome grins to herself as she stretches out across Inu-yasha's body, 'All those all-night study sessions are paying off . . . I know exactly how tried I will be today.'  
  
Inu-yasha runs his hands through her hair, brings locks of it to his nose. 'I can still smell him, but . . . my scent is stronger. Good.'  
  
"Get up bitch." Inu-yasha growls. "We've got to pick up the brat and the cat and get to the Yuka family compound. You got hired yesterday, remember. And I don't want last night to be wasted."  
  
Kagome giggles. "I don't know, Inu-yasha, I'll never consider last night wasted." She sighs, "but. You are correct. Let's get up and get ready."  
  
Miroku whispers to Sango as they watch Inu-yasha and Kagome start to get up. "Well, how was last night?"  
  
"Like I always expected it to be, monk. Very enjoyable."  
  
"Tonight, then?" Miroku asks.  
  
Sango growls. "No. My basic objection about children still stands."  
  
Miroku sighs . . .  
  
They get up.  
  
"Oh, yes, Inu-yasha, Sango and I will have to wash up, soon. I don't want to show up at the compound smelly like sex." Kagome mentions.  
  
"Yeah, I figured that . . . " Inu-yasha grumbles. "Just don't take that long."  
  
"We won't," Kagome replies.  
  
"You two can go back to the room where Kirara and Shippo are and wait there. We'll be there as soon as we clean up." Sango orders as she and Kagome leave for the nearest public bathhouse.  
  
They begin whispering to each other . . .  
  
"Well, Inu-yasha . . . When I can expect my punishment for last night?" Miroku asks as the boy's stand in the doorway watching the girls vanish into the early morning crowds. "When she's on her side of the well." Inu-yasha growls. "And I will be letting her stay some extra time. Not because of her bullshit school, but because you'll need the extra time to heal."  
  
Inu-yasha turns, grabs Miroku and brings him close, so he can snarl at him, "And if you do this or anything like this again, I will kill you."  
  
Miroku raises' his eyebrows, "That Inu-yasha is one of the most idiotic plans you've ever come up with."  
  
"Feh." Inu-yasha snarls.  
  
"You heard her say that she wants to comfort me when I am hurt. If you hurt me, she'll want to comfort me . . . and she'll dislike you because you, Inu-yasha, caused my hurt." Miroku purrs as he explains. "So . . . Inu- yasha, attacking me is the best thing you can do to me."  
  
Inu-yasha drops Miroku.  
  
Miroku smiles, "And should you kill me, Inu-yasha . . . The bond between you and Kagome is very strong. It might survive the fight that would follow that . . . but." He looks Inu-yasha in the eyes. "I don't think it would and neither do you."  
  
"Feh." Inu-yasha growls and turns away from Miroku. "I'm still going to hurt you when she's gone." "And, within limits, I might even deserve some punishment, Inu-yasha, so I'll accept it. But . . . there are limits."  
  
"Feh."  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"Inu-yasha?"  
  
"Feh?"  
  
"I just thought up a wonderful plan." Miroku purrs as he explains his prefect plan. "You don't want to get close to Kagome because you're afraid that someone will attack her." His eyes are staring at the two girls, not seeing Inu-yasha's reaction.  
  
Growl.  
  
"Well . . . If I become her lover . . . "  
  
Deep angry growl . . . "Then your enemies will not attack her, since she is not your lover. A prefect plan, right?"  
  
Miroku looks at Inu-yasha . . . who is glowing red . . .  
  
Miroku sighs . . . 'Another lovely plan . . . gone . . . '  
  
He starts running away from Inu-yasha . . .  
  
"Come back here you perverted asshole!" Inu-yasha yells as he runs after Miroku . . .  
  
Kagome and Sango are walking away from the boys . . .  
  
After a couple minutes, Sango whispers, "now what?"  
  
"We clean up, see what type of mess the boys are making, and then go see our new boss." Kagome replies.  
  
"Kagome. You are not Inu-yasha. You know exactly what I meant." Sango's says in a hurt tone.  
  
Kagome sighs. "Sorry. Will last night affect our friendship?"  
  
Sango whispers, "yes, that is the question."  
  
Kagome looks at Sango. "Sango, why would it? Yes, I know that you can get jealous."  
  
Sango frowns.  
  
"I've seen you when Miroku propositions other women. You do get jealous, you know."  
  
Sango grimaces, but she nods.  
  
"I'm not going to steal him from you."  
  
Sango nods.  
  
"I, also, tend to get jealous when he's with Kikyo. But, you're not Kikyo, so you're not going to steal him from me." Kagome shrugs. "I didn't like everything that happened last night."  
  
Kagome looks in Sango's eyes, "But, Sango. If Inu-yasha is going to have sex with another woman, I'd rather it was with you then anyone else."  
  
Sango blushes and whispers. "Yes. I suppose you are right." She sighs, "And if Miroku is going to have sex with another woman. I suppose last night was the best way it could have happened . . . "  
  
A pause.  
  
"Sango, why didn't you tell me about Kouga?"  
  
"I wasn't sure, not until Inu-yasha mentioned it. I had considered it . . . and did think about telling you, but. It's embarrassing and I keep hoping I wrong."  
  
"Tell me next time, please."  
  
"Yes, Kagome."  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"I just . . . " Sango sighs.  
  
"Yes . . . last night was not romantic."  
  
Sango nods, "yes."  
  
"Somehow we've got to them to do it again . . . this time in a romantic setting. Not in a dirty, flea infested rat-hole."  
  
Sango nods in agreement. "How many flea bites do you have?"  
  
"Too many . . . "  
  
"Same here..."  
  
"How hard to you going to hit him?" Sango asks.  
  
"Which one, Miroku or Inu-yasha?" Kagome asks.  
  
Sango shrugs, "your choice."  
  
"Well, for Inu-yasha . . . once we get away from Kyoto and Inu-yasha's power return . . . I was thinking about a chorus of ninety-nine sits . . . minus how many orgasms I had last night."  
  
A pause. "You?" "Hmmm. Sounds good. Miroku gets that many slaps minus my orgasms."  
  
They smile at each other.  
  
"How many orgasms?" one of them asks.  
  
"A lot . . . I don't think I'll hurt him that badly."  
  
"Same here."  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"Kagome, you mentioned Kouga's education. You know Inu-yasha's . . . "  
  
"Isn't much better." Kagome nods. "I know. But, consider this Sango. If Kouga controlled how often I got to school, how many times would he let me?"  
  
"Never." Sango instantly replies. "You'd be his mate. And I know his tribe. Women are for children, cooking, and cleaning up, and that's it."  
  
Kagome nods. "I thought so. Inu-yasha, on the other hand, he doesn't like it, but he allows me a chance to learn. He'll never admit it, but he does value education. And I keep hoping that when things settle down, I can help him learn."  
  
Sango looks Kagome up and down, "That . . . Is probably a tougher job than killing Naraku."  
  
Kagome smiles, mischievously, "One should have goals in life, right?"  
  
Sango shakes her head as she whispers in awe, "Every time I think I know you, Kagome . . . you surprise me, again . . . "  
  
Kagome's smile grows . . .  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"I would have thought that you would have wanted more privacy?" Kagome quietly asks.  
  
Sango takes a couple of steps before she answers.  
  
"I did think about it, but," She sighs, "Somehow, you know, every time we try to separate to get some privacy . . . something always goes wrong."  
  
Kagome nods. "Yes. It does." Sango sighs again, "So . . . "  
  
Kagome continues, "we did it as a group."  
  
Sango's mouth twitches, "and . . . the later half of last night . . . "  
  
"Is something we want to have happen again." Kagome finishes for her.  
  
Sango nods, she smiles, "Did you notice how the two boys were competing with each other last night?"  
  
Kagome smiles, "Yes. Which I think . . . made last night better than it would have been if we had been alone."  
  
Sango nods. "Miroku kept glancing at Inu-yasha trying to make sure he was better . . . "  
  
Kagome "inu-yasha kept glancing at Miroku for that same reason . . . "  
  
They both smile at each other. "And we got the benefits."  
  
A pause . . .  
  
"There's a bathhouse." Sango points.  
  
"Good. Time to clean up." Kagome turns to enter the house.  
  
Sango grabs her arm. "Kagome. One thing." "Yes, Sango." Kagome stops and looks at Sango in surprise.  
  
"We will be new hires. And that means . . . when we get there. There will be hazing and we will get the worse possible jobs."  
  
Kagome nods. "I thought about that, Sango. Which might mean the prison detail, right?"  
  
"Huh. Yes, I suppose." Sango replies.  
  
"Good. And their dungeons under the compound."  
  
"Where you felt the shard . . . "  
  
Kagome smiles. "Yes, it'll be emotionally hard watching the prisoners, I'm sure, but . . . "  
  
"We'll be able to explore the underground part of the complex." Sango says with wonderment in her voice.  
  
"Like I planned." Kagome smiles.  
  
they enter the bathhouse . . .  
  
The end chapter 12.  
  
I had planned on them getting to the Yuka compound and doing something there. But . . . this is a good stopping point. This finishes up the Geisha house and its aftereffects.  
  
A word of warning . . . The next sequence, life in the Yuka compound and the girls jobs . . . well. As Sango just hinted at . . . bad things will happen . . . the life of a soldier was not always glamorous . . .  
  
Thank you for all the reviews for chapter 11. That was the most responses I had for any chapter of this story. (I had been considering stopping this story, but . . . it will continue for probably a couple of more chapters.)  
  
(Hmmm. Since Feb 26, I have not been able to access any recent reviews, so there might be delays, but I will respond to reviews.)  
  
Thank you for reading jeff shelton 


	13. the lord of the Yuki

A shard in Kyoto  
  
Chapter 13: The Lord of the Yuki  
  
This starts a very unpleasant part of the story.  
  
You are warned.

* * *

Sango and Kagome are leaving the bathhouse, after cleaning up for last nights activities. They start walking down the street, moving through the early morning crowds.  
  
Kagome clears her throat. "Sango?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Last night . . . Why didn't you say 'no' to Miroku?"  
  
Sango takes a few steps, thinking, before she answers. "Because I do want to be with him . . . and last night was the best excuse I've had since the festival."  
  
Kagome replies, "What about your cycle. You can . . . you know . . . " Kagome right hand forms a circle and she pokes the index finger of her left hand through it, as she talks. "With him on those days when you know that you're safe."  
  
Sango shakes her head. "No, Kagome. Oh, that might work for a while, but as time passes, he'll convince me that I will have more safe days than I do."  
  
"Or that just this once, this time, is safe." Kagome adds in.  
  
Sango nods. "And I'll get pregnant." She sighs. "I do want to have children, but not now."  
  
Kagome nods in understanding.  
  
They walk a couple of minutes, dogging other people in the street.  
  
"Why did you go along, Kagome? Even though we didn't have any privacy?" Sango asks.  
  
"I wasn't going to leave you alone with the pervert." Is Kagome's instantaneous reply.  
  
"Kagome." Sango growls.  
  
Kagome sighs. "Privacy . . . Sango, tell me, among the four of us, do we really have any privacy? I don't mean Miroku's peeking fetish, but real privacy."  
  
"What do you mean, Kagome?"  
  
Kagome sighs, "It's just as time has passed, especially since the festival, privacy is meaning less and less to me." Her mouth twitches, "I suppose that's to be expected after the events of the festival, but . . . "  
  
"But, you don't like it?"  
  
"That's the problem, Sango. I should be furious at the lack of privacy that I've had, that we've all had during and since the festival, but, I just can't get the anger up the way I used to."  
  
"You still slap Miroku and sit Inu-yasha."  
  
"Reflexes, Sango, more than anything." Kagome looks at Sango, grabs her arm and while staring her in the face, says, "Plus, a while back, I made a decision to be more aggressive about sex. And last night was the first time that Inu-yasha has responded to my attempts to seduce him."  
  
Sango smiles, "I thought that was it." She pauses, then whispers, "I suppose, that if he said yes, you'd do him anywhere?"  
  
Kagome blushes. "I don't know about anywhere," She emphasizes the word 'anywhere', "Sango, but... I will say that saying no to Inu-yasha would be very, very difficult."  
  
Kagome narrows her eyes, "And once Naraku is killed, I suppose separating you and Miroku will be a challenge?"  
  
Sango blushes. She looks around, "aren't we getting close where we rented that room?"  
  
Kagome looks around, "Yes, I think we are. The lack of street signs in the city is driving me nuts, though. I'm so used to knowing exactly where I'm at."  
  
"Oh, Kagome." Sango whispers, "I did like it that you stayed, last night."  
  
"You can handle Miroku."  
  
"I know. Still, I . . . felt," Sango shrugs.  
  
"That we should stick together, through anything." Kagome supplies helpfully.  
  
"Yes. Something like that." Sango replies.  
  
As they approach the inn, they hear a couple of peasants talking, "Did you see that white haired old man being chased by that monk?"  
  
"That wasn't an old man, did you see his ears? That was a demon."  
  
"A demon in the middle of Kyoto! What is the world coming to?!"  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each other.  
  
"Inu-yasha."  
  
"Miroku."  
  
They sigh.  
  
At the same time, they say, "Boys." And shake their heads.  
  
At the inn, in the room where Kirara and Shippo stayed last night.  
  
Inu-yasha and Miroku enter. They are cloaked and disguised, like they are supposed to be, although Inu-yasha is still limping from the sword attack that happened last night.  
  
Kirara looks up, as they enter, then lays back down.  
  
Shippo is still asleep.  
  
"Running in the street was foolish." Miroku stays as he closes the door behind him.  
  
"I will get you, pervert. And when I do." Inu-yasha growls.  
  
Miroku sighs. "What I have to do for penance . . . " he shakes his head.  
  
Inu-yasha frowns. "Miroku."  
  
"Yes, Inu-yasha?"  
  
"Last night, at the geisha house, I just thought about something." "And your thoughts are?"  
  
"Instead fucking the girls, since we were screened couldn't we just, say jack-off on them and then, they show the musk over the screen." He frowns, "would, not that had been enough?"  
  
"Of course, Inu-yasha." Miroku replies, confidently. "I thought about that while I was getting into position."  
  
"And you still fucked her!" Inu-yasha growls. He moves, so he is standing face to face with Miroku.  
  
Miroku raises an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to pass up a chance to have sex, especially with one of the kindest and beautiful woman, that I know?"  
  
Inu-yasha growls. "Next time, you will not fuck her." His clawed forefinger is in Miroku's face. He taps Miroku shoulder with it. "Do you understand?!" he threatens.  
  
Miroku sighs. "I understand what you are saying, Inu-yasha."  
  
"You'd better." Inu-yasha growls. His ears flick to the doorway. HE whispers, "The girls are coming."  
  
Miroku grins, 'they certainly were last night!' he thinks.  
  
Kagome and Sango, still in their disguise as men, enter the room.  
  
They look at the boys. Their eyes flick up and down the boys body's.  
  
Kagome remarks in a light voice, "Did you guys have any trouble on the way back here?"  
  
Inu-yasha, stepping away from Miroku, remarks in an offhand voice, "of course not, bitch. We walked back here without any problems."  
  
Sango looks a question to Miroku.  
  
Miroku looks away.  
  
"I see, Inu-yasha." Kagome says in a very sweet voice. "Then, I suppose you can explain why you're bleeding." She points to the bandage she applied last night over the sword attack from the thieves.  
  
Inu-yasha looks down. His lower leg is streaked with blood. Running after Miroku caused the wound to reopen. He looks up at Kagome and licks his lips.  
  
Kagome raises her eyebrow. "Well, Inu-yasha?" She taps her foot on the floor.  
  
"It's none of your business, bitch." He growls, turning away from her.  
  
Kagome quickly closes the distance between them. She grabs his shoulder and tries to spin him around.  
  
Inu-yasha tries to resist, and under normal circumstances Kagome wouldn't be able to move him. But, here in Kyoto, with the anti-demon spells covering the city, and he is weakened from the wound and by being awake all night, she does turn him around.  
  
"Inu-yasha. We need to know what you and Miroku did. Do we need to change inns?" Kagome asks.  
  
"We didn't do anything." Inu-yasha starts to say.  
  
"Your leg. And we heard people in the streets talking about you two." Sango remarks, looking at Miroku.  
  
"I chased the monk." Inu-yasha says. "Then we stopped and put on our disguises."  
  
"We should not have to move." Miroku adds. "We stopped running far enough away and changed directions several times before we entered the inn."  
  
"And why were you guys running?" Kagome asks. She shakes her head. "Stop. You two don't have to answer that. It's about last night, of course." She sighs.  
  
Kagome looks at Miroku and then turns her attention to Inu-yasha. "You two can fight out your macho men games later, ok?" she pleads. "Let's get the shard and get out of here, first, though, right?"  
  
"Right . . . " Sango growls, as she glances at both men.  
  
"Right." Miroku says, trying to look innocent.  
  
Inu-yasha grunts, "Feh."  
  
Kagome shakes her head. "Inu-yasha . . . "  
  
He sighs, "right." He growls, "bitch."  
  
Kagome sighs. Kagome bends and whispers into his ear. "Inu-yasha, I know your hurting, Ok. And you're pissed about last night. But, please, let's not fight, OK?" Inu-yasha sighs, he nods and says, "Feh." In a soft voice.  
  
Kagome looks around.  
  
Everyone nods.  
  
She looks at Shippo and goes to him. She examines him. She bites her lips. "We really need to get out of the city. He's very weak."  
  
"Well let's see." Sango asks, "and our plans for today are?"  
  
"We need to get the Yuki family compound quickly." Kagome says.  
  
"And then we'll start working for them." Sango adds. "But he didn't say anything about the monk or Inu-yasha." She waves to them. "What do they do today?"  
  
Kagome looks at both boys, neither one will meet her eyes. "I think, especially after this morning, that they need to stay here, look after Shippo and rest up."  
  
She pauses, "right, boys?"  
  
Miroku and inu-yasha look at each other. They both remember that they really shouldn't be out in the city all that much. "You are correct, Lady Kagome." Miroku says. "I can place stronger wards around the room than you did last night, and that will help Shippo, Kirara and Inu-yasha."  
  
Inu-yasha grunts at the thought that he needs help, but he does not specifically comment about it. "I suppose. We still need to get into the compound, though." He says.  
  
"I'll buy some black hair die, today, Inu-yasha." Kagome mentions, "And we'll ask about rooms in the compound. Hopefully, tomorrow, we can die your hair black, like last night, and" She nods to Miroku, "and he and you can dress up as girls, and the four of us can enter the compound." She sighs. "I would do it today, but, I think the first day, it just needs to be Sango and I."  
  
Sango and Miroku nod vigorously. Inu-yasha growls, deep in his chest, but slowly nods.  
  
Miroku pulls out some paper and a couple of modern pencil from his robes. "Once you get inside the compound, you two can start drawing maps." He emphasizes. "And," he continues, "write down any mystical symbols you see. That way, I can know what anti-demon spells that they have up, so that I can neutralize them."  
  
Kagome and Sango take the paper and pencils from him. Kagome looks Miroku in the eyes, "Thank you for finding these pencils, I thought that I had lost them."  
  
Miroku, faintly blushes, "I've been meaning to return them to you, Lady Kagome, but it keeps slipping me mind."  
  
Kagome nods, faintly "Hopefully, your memory will improve."  
  
His blush deepens, "I think it will, Lady Kagome."  
  
"Good." She smiles.  
  
"Anything else?" inu-yasha growls as he steps between Kagome and Miroku.  
  
Kagome, Sango and Miroku look at each other. "I don't think so." Sango slowly says. "We do need to get moving."  
  
Kagome nods. "Oh, Miroku? A question?"  
  
"Yes, Lady Kagome?"  
  
"I do, on occasion, see peoples aura's. Do you know what colors mean what?" She looks at inu-yasha. "You know like jealousy?" Inu-yasha growls. "And do you know a way that I might be able to make an aura visible to everyone?"  
  
Miroku thinks, rubbing his chin, "I believe I can answer both your questions, Lady Kagome. But, the answers are time consuming."  
  
Kagome sighs, "and we have to leave."  
  
He nods.  
  
She sighs, "If you could, please, write down the answers to those questions, Miroku. That way I can read them when I get the chance."  
  
"And It'll give me something to do." He smiles.  
  
She nods.  
  
"Well?" Sango asks. Nobody says anything. "Let's go, Kagome."  
  
Kagome nods. The girls leave the room.  
  
"Forgot, hmmm?" Inu-yasha mumbles as he looks at Miroku.  
  
Miroku glances at Inu-yasha. "Things do occasionally slip my mind."  
  
He pauses, he purses his lips and thinks, 'No. Inu-yasha. I'll let Kagome's spring that idea on you, herself. I wonder what your reaction will be, should she start to show, you, and everyone else, what your moods are...'  
  
"Oh, well, Inu-yasha. We're stuck here, so you might as well sit down and rest that leg, and I get started writing down the spells that Kagome wants."  
  
"Feh."  
  
They arrive at the front gate of the Yuki family compound, a bit winded after running to make sure that they would arrive as quickly as possible.  
  
"We are Hojo Donsai and Hajake Toorima." Sango says to the gate guard. "The prince of the family, hired us last night."  
  
The guard looks at the captain of the gate. The captain nods. "I was told to expect you. You're a bit early."  
  
Sango and Kagome look at each other and both sigh in relief.  
  
"Akio, come here!" the captain of the gate calls, "Show them to the dressing room inside, so they can prepare themselves."  
  
"Dressing room?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Yes. You surely didn't think that you would be introduced to the head of the family, in those rags, did you?"  
  
Kagome and Sango look at each other and gulp, afraid that their disguises will be penetrated. Sango, takes a deep breath, and follows the soldier into the compound. Kagome follows. "Sango?" she whispers.  
  
"I'm hoping that all we have to do is put some robes over our clothes." She whispers back.  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
They follow the soldier into the compound. Kagome, allows her sandal to slip off. She turns, stops and adjusts it, as the soldier grumbles at the delay.  
  
However, as she is doing this, her eyes are looking at the gate. She is looking for magical spells and mystical symbols. Her eyes spot several white strips of paper, with symbols written on them. And her senses show her several magical spells, protecting the compound. 'Sometime today, I've got to study the gate.' She thinks.  
  
As they approach the main house, they can see a couple of a pony sized bronze lion-like dogs, known as Shishi or Jishi's protecting the entrance. Their mouths are open to scare off demons.  
  
"Sango." Kagome hisses. "I'm sensing a lot of magic from them."  
  
Sango nods. "I'm sure they are there to protect the house against demons. If Inu-yasha was here, they would awaken and attack him."  
  
"So, we've going to have to come up with a plan for them."  
  
"There is one, Kagome. You can beat them in combat, but you can't hide from them." Sango remarks  
  
Kagome grimaces.  
  
They enter the main house. It is a large two story wooden building. Sticking out of the building is a larger pagoda temple which has been built into the building. The guard leads them through a short corridor and into a room. In the room is a couple of women and several large open chests full of robes. The women, when the men enter the room, bow low, putting their faces on the floor.  
  
"These two will be introduced to the head of the family. Select the proper clothes for them and tell them the proper way to move in these clothes." The soldier orders. He inclines his head to the Kagome and Sango."I'll tell the chamberlain that you are here, and he'll take care of you."  
  
He leaves the room.  
  
The women slowly stand, and after asking a couple of questions about how and why Kagome and Sango are here. They pull out a couple of very large and cumbersome robes. The robes are large and drag the floor. The outer parts of the robes are brightly colored silks, but the robes are made out of seven layers of thick silks.  
  
The girls are also given a nicely decorated hand fan, to help them cool off. 'Thanks the gods. I was going to ask for one.' Sango thinks. 'We'll need them in these clothes.'  
  
As they are draping the robes over the two girls, still disguised as men, an older man, in a fancy robe enters. The chamberlain, sniffs, and he begins to order minor adjustments to the robes.  
  
He sniffs, again, and in a very haughty tone, says, "Since you have not been introduced into the presence of Lord of the Yuki family before. This is the proper procedure. If you don't follow it, you will be killed. You will, at all times, focus your eyes on the ground. Only with his express permission may you look at him. You will, at all times, speak in a loud and clear voice. Don't speak in your peasant slang. Do not speak to the lord, except in a direct response to a question. You will, at all times, stand straight and move slowly in his presence."  
  
He pauses. "Do you two understand?"  
  
Kagome and Sango stand up straight, and looking down at the ground, say in a loud and clear voice. "This poor soldier understands."  
  
He sniffs, "that will do. When you enter the room, I will give specific instructions on where to stand."  
  
He sniffs, again, "The ceremonies will be short today, the master will be going to the temple of the war god, at noon."  
  
He gives them one more look, then, turns and says, "follow me. Always stay close."  
  
He walks out of the room. Sango and Kagome follow him.  
  
The interior corridors are lined with polished hardwoods. Paintings hang from the walls, helping to decorate the walls. Flowers arrangements are placed at regular intervals, also decorating the palace, and they help make the palace smell better by the perfume they give off.  
  
Kagome looks at question at Sango.  
  
"They douse the flowers in perfume each morning."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
Lamps and torches light the walls, but, the corridors, even in daylight, are filled with shadows.  
  
The corridors are filled with men, women and children doing their daily routine. Their clothes also help decorate the palace.  
  
The chamberlain is moving slowly, which is a good thing. Both Kagome and Sango are having trouble moving and walking in the thick, stiff, robes, especially as the robes drag about a meter behind them.  
  
"This is very uncomfortable." Kagome whispers to Sango. "How do they stand it?" Her head points to some of the men that they are passing the corridor. Those men are also dressed in similar large, flowing robes. Many of them are using richly decorated hand fans to try to cool themselves.  
  
Sango shrugs, "sometimes. It does get hard." She points her head to a young boy, semi-hidden in the shadows, carrying a small pot and a bamboo tube. "He's there in case someone needs to piss. He'll crawl under the robes and place the tube over the manhood, and..."  
  
Kagome blushes. "Yes, I can see. Getting into and out of these robes..."  
  
"And these robes are good protection for the lord of the manor." Sango whispers.  
  
Kagome raises her eyebrow in a question.  
  
"It's impossible to attack in these robes. So, the lord of the manor is protected against assassination attempts, as long as everyone is wearing these" She lifts her arms, dragging the long floor-length sleeves. "The long sleeves and stiff fabrics prevent any standard attack. Of course, ninjas' have their own special weapons to get around these clothes, but."  
  
Kagome's mouth twitches, "yes. Doing anything but moving slowly and cautiously in these robes, is going to be difficult."  
  
The chamberlain sniffs. "I know that you two were born in a pig-stye, so I do understand you two whispering about these majestic surroundings, but be quiet."  
  
Kagome raises her eyebrow, "majestic?" she whispers. She shakes her head. Even in the morning the corridors are stuffy. She shudders, thinking about what they'll feel like during the heat of the summer, especially wearing these heavy robes.  
  
The chamberlain stops in front of a pair of large doors. In front of the doors is a line of men, all in fancy robes, waiting to enter into the presence of Lord of the Yuki. He turns to Kagome and Sango and in a louder than normal voice, "since his son and heir recommended you, the lord of the Yuki family, directs that you be allowed into his presence without delay."  
  
The men whisper among themselves. And even though Kagome and Sango can't hear exactly what they are saying. The angry tone is evident.  
  
The chamberlain, this time in a lower voice, orders Kagome and Sango, "you will continue to follow me. Stop when I stop. When you are dismissed from his presence, you will turn to the left. You will see a doorway. You will exit via that doorway. While you are exiting, you will not show your back to the lord, and you will not raise your eyes from the ground."  
  
Kagome and Sango nod.  
  
"When I bow, to the lord, you, two will also bow, going down to your knees."  
  
They nod again.  
  
The doors open and the chamberlain leads them through the doors. They slowly walk into the room, Kagome's and Sango's eye, like they are supposed to, remain on the floor. Kagome does flick her eyes from side to side and she sees that men, dressed in formal robes, like she is wearing, line the walls of the room. The lamp and torch light shining off the brightly colored silk's give the room a certain stately beauty.  
  
The chamberlain stops his slow walk and bows to his lord.  
  
Kagome and Sango, their heads bowed, slowly go to their knees.  
  
"You may rise." A strong male voice orders.  
  
All three raise. Their heads still looking at the ground.  
  
"My son and his advisors tell me that you are good warriors. Given the tensions in the city, the Yuki family needs good warriors." A pause. "Hojo Donsai, you may look at me."  
  
Kagome raises her head, and finally looks at the man who she's to be working for.  
  
He is an older man, in his mid-fifties. His face is tanned, but his gorgeous silk robes prevent her from determining how physically fit he is. He is sitting on a raised pedestal on what has to be a throne.  
  
"It is my decision that you will help Nejiru. This afternoon he will be carrying out my orders and punishing evil doers at the nearby square."  
  
Kagome bows, and says in a clear, throaty voice, says, "yes, lord."  
  
"Hajake Toorima, you may look at me"  
  
Sango looks up.  
  
"It is my decision that you will join my personal guard and travel with me to the temple of the war god, later today."  
  
Sango bows, "I am honored, lord." She says in a throaty voice as well.  
  
'We're not going to be together!' Kagome thinks in a semi-panic, but seeing Sango nod her head and smile at her, she calms down.  
  
The lord of the Yuki thinks, 'You two are obviously something other than what you seem. I am not stupid enough to allow you two to work and plan together. So, I will separate them and we'll see what they do.'  
  
A commotion behind the throne attracts everyone attention.  
  
An older man, in his sixties, rushes into the room. "Lord!" he yells.  
  
"Lord astrologer what is the meaning of this interruption." The lord of the Yuki growls threateningly.  
  
"Sir. The protection spells around the house are telling me that a Miko has entered the house."  
  
Kagome and Sango exchange glances.  
  
The lord frowns, "No miko was scheduled to enter the house today."  
  
The lord astrologer nods. "I know Lord, the stars are foretelling that a powerful one will be challenging the house soon, so you ordered all miko's to leave the house."  
  
Kagome, barely, prevents a smile from appearing on her mouth.  
  
"Where is this Miko?" the lord asks in a low, dangerous tone.  
  
The lord astrologer bows, "I don't know lord, I asked the gate captain and he reported no new women are in the household. I even asked the mistress of the kitchen, in case some new woman has entered the household."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Nothing. Sir."  
  
"Then why have you disturbed me?"  
  
The astrologer swallows. "Sir. Lord. You need to know. The stars are showing that a power has entered Kyoto. A power that will change the world."  
  
"Of course the rumors of the jewel of the four souls." The lord replies.  
  
The astrologer shakes his head. "Not that. The stars are saying that power is something else."  
  
The lord of Yuki waves his hand toward the entrance the astrologer used. "Come back when you know more, Lord Astrologer."  
  
The man, slumps, but bows to his lord and retreats from the room. The lord of the Yuki turns his attention to Kagome and Sango. "You two are dismissed."  
  
They bow, going to their knees before him, then slowly leave the room.  
  
Once they leave the room, the Kagome and Sango are separated.  
  
Sango is directed into a room. The robes are taken from her. She directed, by servants, outside to the courtyard in the front of the house, where she can see a large group of men, some are in armor, some are obviously servants. They are apparently preparing to leave the compound.  
  
A large man, wearing samurai armor, with a long sword at his waist and an even longer sword strapped to his back introduces himself to Sango. "I am the captain of the lord's personal guard. You, Hajake, are new."  
  
"Yes, sir." Sango replies.  
  
He stares into her eyes. She stares back. Neither blinks . . .  
  
His hand moves toward the hilt of his sword. She grabs it. Their eyes never moved.  
  
"You are as good as they said." The captain says. He blinks, and nods. "You'll do."  
  
Sango squeezes his wrist. "I dislike hazing, captain." She pauses. "So, unless you wish to lose men, I'd suggest you tell them not to bug me." She releases his wrist. His wrist is bone white from the pressure Sango's was applying.  
  
He pauses. He purses his lips and nods. 'The lord wants to know what he is doing here. He is obviously not just some common ronin. Hazing him, would upset him, and that is not what the lord wants.' He thinks. 'I'll tell the boys to lay off and make friends with Hajake.'  
  
"Today, the Lord will be making a parade to the temple of the war god." The captain begins to speak, ignoring what just happened. "A large number of the warriors of the house will go with him. To impress the rest of the city with our manpower."  
  
Sango nods.  
  
"You will walk next to the lord. I believe that you have interested him. You will answer all his questions."  
  
Sango nods. 'Hopefully, I won't have to lie to much . . . ' she thinks.  
  
"I would expect that he will want to see what you can do." The captain remarks. "So be prepared."  
  
Time passes . . .  
  
Sango is introduced to the rest of the personal guards. There is some grumbling between the men. 'Sooner or later, I'll going to have problems with them.' Sango thinks.  
  
Most of the men are very busy, organizing the parade.  
  
But, Sango, who is the odd person out, has more free time then most, so she manages to move next to the front entrance and even write down the symbols on a couple of the scrolls.  
  
The lord of the Yuki walks down the front stairs of the house and gets into his person palanquin. The palanquin is a boxlike structure attached to a couple of poles. The box is a small richly decorated room with many pillows for comfort. The eight bearers lift the poles that the palanquin box is attacked to and the parade begins.  
  
Sango is directed to walk close to the Lord, but, the captain of the guard and a couple of other experienced samurai walk close to Sango as well. 'If I try anything, they'll try to kill me.' Sango thinks. 'Since assassination isn't what we've got planned, they aren't a problem.'  
  
The Lord of the Yuki begins to ask questions, in this manner.  
  
"Captain. Please ask our new soldier about his father?" the lord of the Yuki asks the captain of the guard.  
  
"Hajake, the lord of the Yuki desires to know about your father?" The captain of the guard asks Sango, even though Sango is walking right next to him and can hear the Lord's question without any problem.  
  
'I thought questions like this would be coming.' Sango thinks, 'I thought about a personal history for my new self, while we were coming to the compound and getting dressed. Now to see if this slightly modified history holds up.' She pauses. 'I wonder if Kagome has come up with a fake history?'  
  
"My father is . . . " Sango begins to speak. And like with the questions, the Captain of the guard relays her answers, basically word for word to the Lord of the Yuki.  
  
'Once I know more about this young man.' the lord of the Yuki thinks. 'Then I will offer him a better job than his current lord, and make him mine.'  
  
Parading to the temple takes time, as the street has to be cleared as the procession moves along. And everyone is proceeding at a slow, stalely walk. While crossing over a small bridge, over one of the many canals in the city, a dirty peasant pops out from under the bridge and accurately throws a bound-up scroll into the palanquin, right on the Lord's lap.  
  
"Read my petition! Lord of the Yuki!" the peasant yells as several of the lords guard jump down into the canal to grab him. "Your servants are overtaxing my village! And we need relief! OOF!" he yells. The 'oof' is from the spear staff hitting his back and knocking him face first into the dirty water.  
  
"Halt!" the captain of the guards yells. Everyone halts. "Bring him up here. The Lord will want to punish him for having interrupting the lord's procession."  
  
Sango whispers, "what is the normal punishment?" to one of the guard, still standing next to and guarding her.  
  
"Death. As slow or as fast as the lord desires."  
  
The dirty peasant, an older man in his fifties, is dragged beside the palanquin. He is kicked to the ground, laying face down in front of the lord.  
  
"Ask the peasant why he wishes to die?" the lord of the Yuki asks the captain of the guard.  
  
"Peasant!" he kicks the man in the ribs to make sure the peasant is paying attention. "Why do you wish to die!?"  
  
"Lord! Please, I beg you, read my petition! If I need to die to get you to read it, I will die a happy man!" the peasant screams from while he looks at the ground.  
  
The lord of the Yuki glances at Sango. Sango catches the glance, but doesn't move. 'Damn. He's going to order me to kill him. I know it. As a way to prove my loyalty to the house.'  
  
Sango thinks. 'Do I? If I don't than these guards will try to kill me and no matter what, Kagome is also going to be implicated, as she knows me. And the guards at the house will kill her. And we need these positions to help get the jewel shard. And once we get the jewel shard, than the tensions in Kyoto will probably go down and the war that is about to happen, will be avoided.'  
  
Sango looks at the peasant. 'IF I save his life, then I jeopardize, mine own, Kagome's, and the lives of my people in the city, because we will prevent the coming war. IF I kill him, then, I save mine and Kagome's life, and the lives of many in the city. Which is more important, saving this life in front of me, at the certain risk and destruction of others? Or killing this life in front of me, knowing that in the future, this act will save lives?'  
  
The Lord of the Yuki opens the scroll and reads the petition. After a couple of minutes, he orders, "Scribe."  
  
"Sir!" One of the men following the palanquin steps up, a reed pen, ink and scroll ready.  
  
The lord of the Yuki begins to speak. "This document states that some of my tax officers have been increasing the tax rate to six parts in ten, instead of the normal five parts in ten, which they are authorized to do. The petition asks me to remove the officials, and reduce the taxes, as that tax rate is a burden on the peasants."  
  
The scribe writes down the lord's words.  
  
"Have the heads, and only the heads, of the tax officials mentioned in this petition brought to me." The lord pauses. "Not because they overtaxed the peasants. But, because they stole that additional money from me. I own all the peasants and all their property. I allow the peasants to keep enough food and money to survive and grow more food. So, that extra one part in ten belongs to me, I simply allow the peasants to continue to use it." He says in an angry voice.  
  
"The families, their wives and children, of these tax officials, will be arrested and jailed. Their extended families and friends, if such thieves have any, may purchase their freedom. I will set the amount later, once I have determined how much, these tax officials have stolen from me."  
  
"Thank you, lord!" the peasant yells in pleasure.  
  
The lord of the Yuki looks at the peasant, and smiles, an unpleasant smile. "The tax rate on the village is to be reduced to the five parts in ten, as is standard."  
  
"Lord! I am grateful beyond my wildest dreams!"  
  
"However, you, peasant, will be killed for interrupting my procession."  
  
"Yes, Lord. I knew that."  
  
"Your wife and children will also be killed. They should have stopped you, or at least informed my officials of your plans, so that my officials could have stopped you."  
  
"Lord! Please have mercy!" the man begs.  
  
"This petition mentions six other men in the village that helped you. They will also be killed, because they should have stopped you." The lord pauses. "In my mercy, I will allow their families to live."  
  
"Thank you, lord!"  
  
"In addition, from reading this petition it is apparent that a tax rate of six parts in ten, did not unduly hurt the village. The new official tax rate will be six parts in ten."  
  
"Lord! Please!"  
  
"Hajake." The lord of the Yuki orders, "Kill it."  
  
Sango takes a deep breath. 'Do I obey or not?'  
  
(I wish that I could ask you, the readers, opinion as to what she should do.. but that's against Fanfiction.net rules. So, I can not ask for your opinions...)  
  
Kagome, after removing the ceremonial robes, is taken down stairs deep in the building. After going down one flight of stairs, the servant that is leading Kagome, knocks on a paper door.  
  
"Come in." Comes from the room.  
  
The servant opens the door and motions from Kagome to enter the room.  
  
Sitting, cross-legged, like Inu-yasha, on the floor is a large man. He is dressed in a simple, but very red, robe. Even sitting down, Kagome can tell that he is taller than even Sesshomaru, and while he not as huge as a sumo wrestler, he is still larger than the men she knows. And that additional size is in muscles, not fat . . .  
  
He looks up for the paperwork that is spread out on the floor. "You are Hojo?"  
  
Kagome nods. "Yes, sir."  
  
"I am Nejiru, your boss."  
  
"Yes, sir." Kagome pauses. "Although, I have not been told anything about what, my duties will be."  
  
Nejiru grunts. "Not surprising. I'm damn important in this household, but nobody really likes to talk about my job." He looks into Kagome's eyes. There is a gleam of humor in his eyes, "I am in charge of the prison, Hojo."  
  
Kagome swallows and nods. 'This morning I mentioned to Sango that we might be used as prison guards, but, I didn't really think that would happen . . . '  
  
Nejiru looks Kagome up and down, 'small man. Ah well. I can use the help today.' He thinks.  
  
"Your duties, especially today, are going to be to help me."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
"Later today, the lord wishes me to stage a public display. He wishes the city to know that the house of Yuki is a strong house and should you disobey it, you will be punished, severely." Kagome grimaces, but nods.  
  
"So, your duties will be to help me drag the prisoners out of their cells, take them to the public square and help me torture and execute them."  
  
"Torture?" Kagome, almost says in a ladylike squeak, but she manages to get the word out in a low, man-type voice.  
  
"Of course. In order to be effective, the public most know what will happen to them, should they disobey. And the only way to do that is to put on a show for them." Nejiru smiles. "The people of the city love to watch criminals being punished."  
  
the end chapter 13....  
  
Ceremonial clothes: sigh. I could spend 5000 to 10,000 words just trying to describe the large and complex robes that were used in feudal japan. They were uniforms and simply by glancing at them, you could tell a lot about the person.  
  
If you want to read about it in depth go to  
  
Remove the spaces to get the link.  
  
sengokudaimyo. com  
  
And click on the history of Japanese clothing link. Very in depth and complex. I am not going to try and do it. (I'll get it wrong . . . )  
  
Authors' note: the Sango & the peasant and his story. That story is from "Tales of Old Japan" by A.B. Mitford. Pages 182 to 203. I vastly simplified the story. Although in the story, The tax rate was reduced, not increased. I increased it in my story, because I wanted to show the Lord of the Yuki as a vindictive, nasty man . . .  
  
Chapter 14: crime & punishment 101 . . . will not be pleasant . . .  
  
thank you for reading jeff shelton 


	14. Crime and Punishment 101

A shard in Kyoto chapter 14: crime and Punishment 101  
  
Graphic violence you are warned.

* * *

"Your duties, especially today, are going to be to help me."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
"Later today, the lord wishes me to stage a public display. He wishes the city to know that the house of Yuki is a strong house and should you disobey it, you will be punished, severely."  
  
Kagome grimaces, but nods.  
  
"So, your duties will be to help me drag the prisoners out of their cells, take them to the public square and help me torture and execute them."  
  
"Torture?" Kagome, almost says in a ladylike squeak, but she manages to get the word out in a low, man-type voice.  
  
"Of course. In order to be effective, the public most know what will happen to them, should they disobey. And the only way to do that is to put on a show for them." Nejiru smiles. "The people of the city love to watch criminals being punished."  
  
Kagome pales as she swallows hard and nods.  
  
"Hmm." Nejiru rubs his chin. He says, "You haven't done anything like this before, have you?"  
  
Kagome shakes her head.  
  
Nejiru looks down at the paperwork on the floor in front of him. "Well, let's walk through the cells and such, then I'll give you a couple of simple tasks to do, while I finish up this paperwork. So, just stand there until I'm ready."  
  
Kagome, not trusting her voice, nods.  
  
A couple of minutes later as Nejiru leaves the room, Kagome follows behind him. Her bow and arrows have been left behind in the room. They are both wearing their swords.  
  
Nejiru introduces 'Hojo' to the other guards at the top of the stairs that go down into the ground. 'Hojo', Kagome, responds in monosyllables.  
  
After walking down the stairs, the corridor branches into two hallways. One of them goes left and one of them goes right. Nejiru points down the left hallway, "that's underground storage. Saki, rice, spare cloth and other shit. A lot of the kitchen servants come up and down this stairway as well." He heads down the right hallway.  
  
He sighs, "I keep telling them we need a second entrance, but," he shakes his head, "they won't do it. No doubt if one of the princes of the family ever came down here a lot, they'd change their minds, but . . . what can you do?"  
  
Kagome nods, and in a friendly tone, "what can you do when your boss isn't listening."  
  
There is a locked door a few feet into the hallway. "Open up." Nejiru orders. The guards inside open up the reinforced wooden door. "This is someone, that'll be helping us, today, boys. His name is Hojo." He says as he enters.  
  
Kagome follows him, nodding to the guards in the room. It's not much of a room. It's basically big enough for about half-a-dozen men to lounge around. Kagome can see some dice in one corner, where the guards had been killing time by betting. There is a couple of jars of, perhaps water, or more likely, from the smell, saki along the wall.  
  
Most of the guards are just wearing simple cotton clothes, red in color, and wearing a sword. There is also a line of wooden staves, they look like baseball bats, many of them have reddish ends. Nejiru picks up one and says, "grab one, Hojo."  
  
Kagome nods and picks up one of the staves.  
  
Nejiru orders the guards to open another locked reinforced wooden door on the other side of the chamber.  
  
Beyond that door is a long corridor lined with more wooden doors, perhaps ten on either side. At the end of the corridor is another wooden door. Standing in front of it, is a guard, armed with a sword and stave. There are a couple of torches on the walls for light. The corridor is lined with wood, from floor to ceiling.  
  
In the corridor are a couple of older women. One of them has a large open- mouthed jar on her back. The other woman has a long handled large ladle spoon.  
  
The words, "Thank you!" comes out of the cell that the old women are standing in front of. A pair of skinny arms slides a bowl through an opening at the bottom of the door. The old woman slops a ladle for food into the bowl. As the bowl is pulled into the cell, a second bowl is shoved under the door.  
  
"How many per cell?" Kagome whispers.  
  
"It varies, there are a couple are hard cases and they're alone, but we can put a dozen or more in each cell if we have to." Nejiru replies, in a normal voice. "Since we are going to have a public punishment today, over the last month, they've been bringing in more prisoners than normal, so we can have a large exhibition this afternoon. Right now, we're overfull, but we won't be by tonight."  
  
Kagome conceals her shudder.  
  
The old women move down the corridor to the next cell.  
  
"Hojo." Nejiru says, as the door closes behind them, "we'll be taking everyone out of the cells today and leading them in a parade out of a nearby field."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
"At the field, some of them will be killed, some of them will be tortured and some are simply lead there and back to make an impression on the city folk."  
  
"What do you want me to do?" Kagome asks.  
  
Nejiru smiles, "You'll help as we take them out of the cells and guard them as we travel to the field and back. There is a couple of specific tasks I'll give you." He smiles, "neither task is difficult."  
  
Kagome looks around and asks, "what are they in here for?"  
  
Nejiru shrugs. "They broke the law. I don't care, nor control, who gets shoved down here."  
  
"Oh." Kagome looks around, "I don't suppose they get out soon."  
  
Nejiru grunts, "you mean other than today?"  
  
Kagome grunts, "yes."  
  
Nejiru replies, "Some of them will get out, permanently, since they'll be dead. Most will be released to their families, after they've been punished for their crimes. And a few will be returning to these cells." He sighs, "Then, no doubt, tomorrow, I'll get a new batch of prisoners shipped to me from one of the other castles." He shakes his head, "more paperwork." He looks at 'Hojo' "Can you read and write?" he asks.  
  
Kagome nods. "Yes."  
  
Nejiru purses his lips, as he thinks, 'we'll see. He doesn't really strike me as a person who'll enjoy today, but, if I can get someone that can help me with the paperwork . . . he might be really useful.'  
  
They walk down the corridor. As they walk down the corridor, the prisoners do recognize Nejiru's voice and they all beg, beseech, plead for mercy, as they walk pass.  
  
"I suppose that you think that I've tortured them, don't you?" Nejiru asks as they slowly stroll down the corridor.  
  
Kagome nods, "they are . . . " She waves at the doors.  
  
Nejiru shakes his head, "no. I don't come down here and beat up the prisoners for fun. Neither, does my men and neither will you. Now, if a prisoner does not obey an order, then, yes, they are to be beaten until they obey."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
"They beg because we control them and if they can play upon your sympathy, you'll go easy on them." Nejiru growls, "so, I'll promise you this, Hojo, if I see that you are buying into their lies and flattery, you'll join them."  
  
Kagome nods, "I will not listen to their lies, sir." She says in as manlike voice as she can.  
  
Nejiru nods. He purses his lips, "You are not a huge man, and your face is feminine, so if I catch you forcing one of the men in here to suck you off, you'll join them."  
  
Kagome blushes, 'he thinks I'm homosexual.'  
  
"Not because I hate that getting my manhood sucked on, I don't. But, because you'll probably try to do it alone and that means the prisoner has a better chance than normal to escape or to try to con you into doing something stupid." He explains.  
  
Nejiru's eyebrow raises at 'Hojo' blush. 'Like I thought, he's been a boy toy to a samurai in the Hojo family and took the name.' "The cells will be clean." Nejiru states in a loud voice, "If, when you take the prisoners out of the cells and it is not clean, all the individuals in the cell will be beaten."  
  
The begging, and beseeching that the prisoners were doing stop, suddenly. Kagome can hear scratching in the cells.  
  
"Why clean?" Kagome asks, 'All the movies have prisons and torture chambers as dirty places.'  
  
"Because I want them to be clean." Nejiru replies. He whispers, so only Kagome can hear, "And because, a cell can never be too clean, which gives me the excuse to punish the prisoners whenever I need to."  
  
"Oh . . . " Kagome whispers.  
  
They stop at the far door. "Behind this door are some special store rooms. You do not have permission to enter." Nejiru says in a loud voice. Kagome and the guard nod at each other.  
  
'I can feel it.' Kagome thinks. 'But . . . there is no way I can get it. Are there more guards behind this door? And can I kill Nejiru and this guard and then kill all the other guards, which are watching from the first room? No. But, this is a simple floor plan. All we have to do, now, is to get the boys inside the compound and we should be able to get it and get out, I think.'  
  
Nejiru points to the last door. The guard, standing in front of the door, smiles, nastily. Kagome can smell something rotten in it. "Your first job, and, I will be sending someone to help you, if you don't throw up, is to carry what's in there up and out of the building."  
  
"What's in there?" Kagome asks.  
  
Nejiru pauses, "in the last couple of weeks, we had an escape attempt. Both the men were scheduled to die today, so, I suppose I can understand why they tried, but. They failed." He hefts the wooden stave and Kagome's eyes are drawn to the dried blood on one end. "And they were killed."  
  
He points at the cell, "their bodies on in there. We boxed them up. You'll carry the boxes' up."  
  
"For burial?" Kagome's voice shakes as she speaks, but her tone is still manlike.  
  
He shakes his head, "My orders are to remove their heads, today. That is what we will do."  
  
"But, they're dead?"  
  
He shrugs, "my orders are my orders. For one of them, we'll also cut off his arms and legs, his family has paid me the money to send the body parts to various temples through the city. They're hoping that by burying him in multiple locations, some god, will feel pity for the family and remove the bad luck that his family is suffering under."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
"Go ahead and open up the door." Nejiru orders.  
  
Kagome slowly walks to the door, as she does this, she notices that the door to where the other guards are at has opened and they are staring at her. 'They want me to throw up. So, they can have some fun.' She thinks.  
  
She growls as she opens the door. Once it opens the stench of the rotting flesh floats through the doorway and into the corridor. Kagome breathes through her mouth, trying to cut the odor, but, she still almost gags. She does, however, not throw up.  
  
"Go in. Open up one of the boxes." Nejiru orders.  
  
Kagome takes a deep breath, still breathing through her mouth and enters the room. One of the boxes is sealed, but the other is still unsealed. 'He had this planned. I'm sure. This is a test, if I fail, who knows what nasty job I'll have to do next?' Kagome thinks. She suppresses a shudder, 'I'm not going to think about a nastier job.'  
  
She opens the box. It is a one meter by one meter by one meter box. The body inside it is folded up like a fan. His eye sockets are staring up at Kagome. She can see grubs, worms and other insects on and in the body.  
  
She looks at Nejiru and asks in a calm, if low, voice, "Did I pass the test?"  
  
He nods. "You'll do. Akio, come on in and help Hojo!" He calls. Akio, one of the guards in the first room hurries down the corridor. Akio is his second in command.  
  
"Yes, sir!" He says as stops in front of the open doorway.  
  
"Help Hojo with the boxes." Nejiru points. "Then grab a couple of prisoners and have them clean up the cell. After that, get with me and we'll start opening up the cells and bringing up the prisoners."  
  
"Yes, sir!" Akio nods.  
  
Nejiru, in a quiet voice, "remember the lords of the family will be watching and so will be the city folk."  
  
Akio nods. A predatory smile begins to grow on his face.  
  
"And they'll expect the prisoners to be tortured and to have some bruises and cuts." Nejiru continues, "So, as you open up the cells, remember that they are dirty and put some visible bruises on the prisoners."  
  
Akio rubs his wooden stave in a suggestive manner. "Not a problem, boss. A couple of the new fish in here were acting up anyway."  
  
Nejiru nods. "Just remember that they will have to walk to the field and having a prisoner die or too badly hurt to walk today will not look good."  
  
Akio replies, "The boys and I have talked it over, boss. Some of them are new," He nods to 'Hojo', "but most remember last time and everything will go smoothly."  
  
"See to it, Akio." Nejiru sighs, "I've got to get the paperwork finished, so I can figure out who gets what type of punishment today."  
  
Akio nods, and smiles, "It'll be fine, boss. I can handle it."  
  
Nejiru nods and walks away.  
  
"Why not have a couple of the prisoner's lug this up?" Kagome asks. 'Anything to get anyway from the stench.'  
  
Akio shakes his head, "Nope. They're still our prisoners, so we got to handle them." He grimaces, "at least it's on two this time. Last time it was half-a-dozen."  
  
"Oh." Kagome sighs  
  
Akio says, "Well, put the lid on." He holds up some wooden spikes, "I'll spike it down and we'll get started."  
  
Later . . . after Kagome and Akio have brought up the boxes . . .  
  
Kagome stops suddenly as she enters the room with the cells. The guards are opening a cell and bringing out the prisoners.  
  
As the prisoner comes out he (or she, there are a few females and a couple of children, as well) is hit across the face with one of the wooden staves and shoved down to the floor. On the floor his arms are wrenched behind his back and tied together with rope. Most of the prisoners are only wearing a loincloth, so, they are given a plain, linen robe to wear as they walk through town.  
  
Each prisoner is hauled to his feet and marched out of the cell area. As all this is going on, the guards are cursing the prisoners, and if, say, a prisoner has problems walking and stumbles, they laugh as they hit him and scream at him to walk straight. All the time prodding and hitting him with their staves.  
  
To prevent the prisoners from attacking when the cells are opened, guards with their swords drawn and guards with bows and arrows, are protecting the guards nearest the door.  
  
"Come on, Hojo!" Akio orders, as he waves at Kagome to enter the room.  
  
"Sir, I'm really good with a bow." Kagome volunteers in a helpful tone.  
  
Akio shakes his head. "Nope. Come over here and help us, drag these assholes out of their cells."  
  
Kagome thinks, 'I've got to decide now. If I follow his orders, he'll have me hit them, I'm sure. But, can I hit them? And if I don't, I know that he'll give me a very nasty job. And maybe throw me out of the compound, and I need this job, so I can smuggle Inu-yasha and Miroku in tomorrow.'  
  
"Sir. Please." Kagome asks.  
  
Akio glares at 'Hojo.' He purses his lips. "Very well." He spits out in a disgusted tone. He moves to a different cell.  
  
"Come here, Hojo!" he orders.  
  
Kagome swallows hard, but approaches him.  
  
Akio throws a length of rope at Kagome. "Since you don't want to do the easy job, you get a hard one." He slams his hand against the door. "You awake in there, fuckface!"  
  
"Rot in hell! Asshole!" a man yells back in rage.  
  
"The bastard in here is a quarter-demon. He got a little bit drunk and ripped up a tavern." He sighs, "he might have gotten away with that, but he killed a samurai."  
  
Akio smiles at Hojo. "And since he's scheduled to die today, I'm sure that he'll fight." He pauses, "So, your choice, Hojo. You can help us with the other cells," he waves at the knot of the guards that are watching them. "And we'll help you to subdue this bastard."  
  
He knocks on the cell door again. "Or I can open the door, now, and you can do it now, by yourself."  
  
'I can feel his demon side.' Kagome thinks. 'And . . . if I purify that, quickly, then . . . ' she nods.  
  
"Open the door." She growls out. She spreads her feet, ready to fight. She holds her wooden stave in one hand and the rope in the other.  
  
"Give me your sword. I'm not going to give him a real weapon." Akio orders. Kagome nods and hands him her sword.  
  
"I'm going to open it up and then close it. You'll either yell that you've got him or you'll die." Akio grins.  
  
'And . . . I've watched Inu-yasha often enough in combat to know, that I've got to attack, first.' Kagome thinks. With a grim look on her face, Kagome nods and says, "I understand, open it up."  
  
The door opens and Kagome charges into the room.  
  
Inside is a huge man, obviously, one quarter demon-bear snarls at her. He is only wearing a loincloth.  
  
The door closes . . .  
  
A flash of light shows around the edges of the door and noises of combat crashes through the door.  
  
A minute passes . . . the sound of fighting fades.  
  
"Open it!" Kagome yells.  
  
Akio cautiously opens the door, then throws it open.  
  
All the guards rush to the open door and look into the cell.  
  
The huge man is laying face-down on the floor, unconscious, his hands tied behind his back. Blood is leaking from his jaw . . .  
  
Kagome is sitting on top of him. Her wooden stave is broken in two. In a couple of hours the shiner around her right eye, will close that eye. She smiles, "I've fought worse foes."  
  
'Purified his demon part, which confused and weakened him. Then I got in a couple of good hits across his head. Then he hit me. So . . . I smashed his nuts with my club, breaking it in two.' She thinks.  
  
Akio purses his lips and slowly nods. "Very well Hojo, You can still see, right?"  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
"Grab a bow."  
  
Kagome suppresses her natural smile and simply nods her head in thanks.  
  
Later . . .  
  
Kagome is holding a bow and arrow protecting the guards as they haul the prisoners out of the cells.  
  
"This is the other hard case, guys. So, watch yourselves." Akio warns just before he opens the door.  
  
"You disgusting animal!" Akio yells as he opens door.  
  
The young and handsome man inside is nude and jacking off, right next to the door. HE smiles as he points his manhood at Akio and releases his control, spurting his semen on Akio. "Lovely," He purrs, "you bastards might kill me today, but lets see you live that one down."  
  
Akio and a couple of the guards raise their staves and charge the man. The sound of wood hitting flesh is heard.  
  
Kagome whispers to the guard next to her, "What did he do?"  
  
The guard whispers back, "got caught in the wrong bedroom at the wrong time, I think. Officially he's in here for disturbing the peace, but one of the lords of the family is taking a lot of interest in him. He is the reason this idiot is going to die today, otherwise, we'd whip him, say ten or twenty times, then let him go."  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
Later . . .  
  
Outside in the courtyard of the Yuki family compound.  
  
The guards, including Kagome, are lining up the prisoners, and getting them ready to march out of the compound.  
  
Nejiru, who has been inside his office during all this time, finally comes out of his office. He stuffs a roll of paper into his kimono and walks up and down the prisoners. He notices a few prisoners don't have bruises and orders them hit to give them the proper battered appearance for the nobles and the crowd. He nods, "good enough. Pass out the hoods and red kimonos." Akio begins to pass out red hoods and red kimonos for the jail guards.  
  
"Hoods?" Kagome asks.  
  
"Sometimes, even these idiots have families," Nejiru replies, "so, we'll wear hoods to prevent them from knowing exactly who we are." HE smiles, "And the hoods are intimidating."  
  
Kagome slowly nods.  
  
Each of the hoods is marked with numbers, so the guards can refer to each other by number and know who and who. Nejiru is number one, of course, Akio is number two. Kagome is number eleven.  
  
Later . . .  
  
At an open field near the Yuki family compound.  
  
A newly made platform has been built, during the morning, at one end. The prisoners are lined up in front of the platform. Surrounding and guarding them are the jail guards.  
  
There is also a company of Yuki family soldiers in the field. They are lined up, separating the platform and prisoners from the normal citizens of Kyoto.  
  
A large crowd of people has gathered in the field to watch the punishments. Mixed in the crowd are food and drink sellers, which circulate through the crowd providing refreshment. The crowd is in a good mood, laughing and joking. To some of them, this is their entertainment.  
  
Next to the right-hand side of the platform is another company of Yuki family soldiers, they are guarding a group of family nobles, as they watch the punishments. Yuki Shiba is among the nobles, watching and making sure that everything is going smoothly.  
  
Kagome is standing next to Nejiru on the platform. "What do you want me to do?" she whispers.  
  
"Just stand there, for now, Hojo." He replies in an undertone. "Once we start, I'll want you to whip a couple of prisoners, then, I'll want you to help me with a special punishment."  
  
Kagome swallows as she looks around, 'In public . . . He's going to have me whip some in public.' She slowly nods, 'I can see why . . . Once I've done that, then, I become part of the group. And that gives him more control over me.'  
  
Nejiru walks off, directing the finishing touches, before the ceremony begins.  
  
'Can I refuse?' Kagome thinks. 'No. In public like this, if I refuse to follow orders, I'm sure that I'll suddenly become a prisoner. There is no way, in public like this, that he'll accept anything other that instant obedience.'  
  
Akio comes up to Kagome, "he wants you." He points to Nejiru. Nejiru is standing in front of the platform. Several prisoners are lined up and tied to posts that have been planted in the ground.  
  
A prisoner is screaming as another guard is whipping him, as punishment for theft.  
  
Nejiru hands Kagome a whip. "He gets a dozen lashes." He points to the male prisoner he is standing next to. The prisoner has been striped down to his loincloth.  
  
Kagome swallows but accepts the whip.  
  
Nejiru takes out his scroll and begins to read from it. "Goro. Is found guilty of drunk and disorderly behavior. His punishment is one dozen whiplashes, then he will be released." He nods to Kagome. "Begin."  
  
Kagome takes a deep breath and swings the whip, hitting Goro across the back.  
  
"Harder!" Nejiru yells, which Kagome was prepared for. But . . . the crowd also yells, "Harder!" "Give it to him!"  
  
Kagome looks at the crowd and she can see the excitement on some of the faces. 'Why?' she thinks as she pauses for a second. 'What other entertainment do they have?'  
  
She looks around at the soldiers and the Yuki family nobles that are watching, 'and, if the city folk are not happy with the punishments? Perhaps the soldiers with arrest them? Maybe. So they yell in support of the punishment, so they don't get arrested?'  
  
"Now! Harder!" Nejiru yells again.  
  
Kagome grimaces and hits Goro again, harder.  
  
And again . . .  
  
Later . . .  
  
Kagome watches, as she stands near the crowd, Goro is being released to his family his punishment is over. She thinks, 'Will I be able to look myself in the mirror, tonight?' she bites her lips.  
  
Kagome is close enough that she can hear one of Goro's friends yells at him, "Party tonight?"  
  
Goro yells back, "Hell! Yes! I need to do something to make the pain go away!"  
  
She nods as she thinks, 'well, maybe he deserved that, then. Not that it taught him anything, apparently.'  
  
Kagome helps move more of the prisoners as they are punished for small scale crimes. Most of the punishment is whipping or some other from of public abuse. A couple of the women are shaved bald as punishment. Then the prisoners are released to the families.  
  
"Most of these have only been captured recently?" She whispers to another guard.  
  
"Yes. Feeding and guarding prisoners is expensive, so most crimes are punished with a couple days or weeks in prison then a public punishment, like this." The guard shrugs. "Sometimes it teaches them to behave, sometimes it doesn't."  
  
"All right." Kagome whispers. 'Nowadays we keep everyone in jail, and you still hear about people that will not change their behavior. Hmmm . . . I suppose, if a person is going to be weak and commit crimes . . . he's not going to be strong enough to change his behavior and correct it. So it doesn't matter what you do, he is still going to commit more crimes. Maybe?' she mentally shrugs as she thinks.  
  
"Pssss. Number Eleven!" Kagome hears from the crowd. An older woman is standing at the edge of the crowd waving for Kagome to approach her.  
  
Kagome looks around, she grimaces, 'it looks like one the women are next. And, I don't like, the look of what their doing, so walking over there while they are preparing the next punishment might be a good thing.' She thinks. She walks over to the woman.  
  
"Yes?" Kagome asks in as manlike voice as she can.  
  
The woman reaches out and grabs Kagome's hands and places a heavy bag in them. "This is for my son, Isamu, please see that he is well fed and not beaten, please." The woman whispers as she vanishes into the crowd, leaving Kagome standing there with a heavy leather pouch in her hands.  
  
Kagome steps back away from the crowd and walks behind the platform. Everyone else's attention is centered on the punishment being prepared there, so no one pays attention to her.  
  
Kagome opens the bag. It is full of silver coins. She closes the bag. Kagome, with a very pained expression on her face, thinks, 'For perhaps the first time, I think I can understand people like Naraku . . . ' she shakes her head, just a little bit.  
  
'The temptation . . . No one knows about this. There is plenty of silver here, enough to feed a family for a long time, I'm sure. And, I'm sure, that Isamu, would tell me where the family lives, and all it would take is a note, asking for more money. And they'd probably do it.' She thinks. 'And no one knows. I don't have to do anything, and this is mine.'  
  
She fingers her red hood. 'And this . . . when I was hitting that man . . . No one knows that I did it. I don't have to tell anyone. Also the fear in the people's eyes, when I walked next to the crowd . . . most of the people flinched away from me. The anonymous power of fear that this hood brings . . . '  
  
Kagome shivers, 'Yes, perhaps I see why people might like this. All you have to do is follow orders and good things can happen to you. Money' she shakes the bag. 'I'm sure that since Nejiru warned me specifically, and some of the comments I heard as we were bringing the prisoners here, that sex with the prisoners is possible. Just as part of a group, not individually.'  
  
Kagome takes a deep breath, "No, I will not be tempted. What do I do with the money, then?"  
  
She shakes the bag again, 'Give it to Nejiru, along with that request? It might help, but then Nejiru might do something else with it. Find out where the family lives and give it back? But . . . then, won't they just bribe another guard? Give it to a monastery, so they can use it to feed the poor?' Kagome sighs and puts the pouch in her red robe. 'I'll think about it later.'  
  
Kagome looks around. Nobody is paying much attention to her. 'I can remove the hood and robe and walk away. I've got the floor plan and if, necessary we can smash in and grab it. Sango and I don't absolutely have to able to enter.' She thinks.  
  
'But . . . if I leave. What would Inu-yasha say? That I chickened out? Sure. He wouldn't understand why I left. The pain I feel for these people, he's never been that type of a person. And, he'll feel that if I leave, that I've wasted last night and today.' She shakes her head.  
  
'I haven't. But . . . ' she sighs. 'If I leave it still feels like I gave up. So . . . I'll stick around, surely it can't get worse.'  
  
A cheer raises from the crowd. 'They must have started on the next person.' She thinks.  
  
"Eleven!" Akio yells, as he turns the corner. "Come on." His eyes flick down at the ground, "I thought that you had come back here to throw up. I see that you didn't, so why?"  
  
"No. I just wanted to get a breath of air." 'Hojo' replies, "I've seen worse than this, Number two."  
  
Akio shrugs, "come on."  
  
They both walk around the platform and see that a crucifixion has begun.  
  
A woman, nude, in her mid-thirties is tied, hanging to the cross.  
  
Kagome swallows hard. "I thought . . . No. I've seen it done before with nails in the wrists, why not with her?" she asks, trying to be the tough man that she's supposed to be.  
  
"Nails cost money. Rope is cheaper." Akio replies quickly.  
  
"Why?" Kagome asks. "What did she do to deserve this?"  
  
"She killed the prince of the family's hunting falcon. Which is another reason why we're using ropes. They cause less bleeding and sometimes a person might bleed to death when you spike them. And the prince wants her to be on that cross for a long time." Akio replies.  
  
'Falcon? She killed his pet falcon and she's going to die, a long and horrible death, for that?' Kagome thinks in shock.  
  
"How did it happen?" she asks.  
  
"Her husband brought the dead bird to the prince and told him the story. She was throwing a rock at a squirrel and it hit the falcon, as the bird dived on the squirrel."  
  
"Why did the husband tell anyone?" Kagome instantly asks. 'If the bird just vanishes, how will the prince know what happened?' she thinks.  
  
Akio turns and looks at 'Hojo.' "Because he is supposed to report things like that, Hojo." He states. "That falcon was worth many gold pieces, far more than one peasant woman." He points to the crowd. He is pointing at an older man, early fifties, perhaps. Next to him is a young, a very young, looking woman/girl.  
  
"The prince rewarded the husband for informing on his wife, and the man used that money to marry into a better family."  
  
Kagome looks at the man, "I wonder . . . did the husband kill the falcon, then lied to get that reward?"  
  
Akio looks at Kagome, suspicion in his gaze. "The police investigated the woman and the man. They believed the man. Which is, of course, what they're supposed to do. Who's going to believe a woman? And after they did the water torture on her, she confessed." His tone tells Kagome that he is absolutely sure about his statement.  
  
Kagome opens her mouth, then closes it with a snap. "What if they're wrong?"  
  
Akio shakes his head in pity, "You really have lead a sheltered life haven't you? That samurai lover of yours must have been something."  
  
Kagome blushes.  
  
Akio continues, his tone is that of a person talking to an idiot, a low grade idiot . . .  
  
"The emperor is a god and can't make a mistake. He appoints the shogun to rule Japan, so the Emperor doesn't have to deal with minor nobles and commoners. The Shogun rules through the daiymo, the warlord families." He nods his head at the Yuki family nobles that are watching the punishment.  
  
"The families appoint the local police. When the police locate a crime and they solve it, they are operating under the authority and power of the emperor. So . . . if the police make a mistake and the family approves it." He waves at the woman being crucixified.  
  
"Then, if a mistake is made, the police, the family, the shogun and the emperor all lose face. And since the emperor can't make a mistake or lose face . . . the police can't make a mistake. So, if they solve the crime . . . their solution must be correct."  
  
Kagome whispers, "The government is always correct, in other words."  
  
Akio nods. "Ah, you do get it. You're not as stupid as I thought you were." He smiles, "besides, if the peasants started thinking that the police and/or the samurai could make mistakes, then they might think that laws need to be changed and that'll lead to upraising and revolts. And since the peasants aren't warriors, they can't win, so they'll just be killed, which of course wastes money, food and lives. It's better if everyone knows that the emperor and his Shogun are always correct and nobody questions that."  
  
He pauses, "Do you understand?" He growls at 'Hojo.'  
  
Kagome nods. "I understand."  
  
(Author's note here: even in modern japan, some defensive lawyers will tell you, "Look the gov. has a case. So, since they wouldn't charge you, if they didn't know that they would win, let's make things easier and simply say 'I'm guilty.'")  
  
Kagome looks at the woman, who is slowly strangling on the cross.  
  
The woman is pushing herself, using her feet against the wood of the cross and raising herself up to avoid her arms being stretched out of their sockets.  
  
But, as her arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push herself upward.  
  
Hanging by her arms, the chest muscles paralyzed by cramps, the stomach muscles are unable to act. She gulps air into the lungs, but the air cannot be exhaled. She fights to raise herself in order to get even one short breath. The carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside.  
  
But . . . the fluids in and around the lungs build up. Fluid builds around the woman's heart, causing it to beat irregularly and harder. The blood thickens and breathing becomes harder and harder . . .  
  
And the woman, finally, doesn't have the strength to raise up and gulp more air into her lungs.  
  
She dies of suffocation, drowning in her own fluids . . .  
  
After her death, her punishment continues, as her body is too be left on the cross for three days, exposed so the birds and animals can eat of it, before she can be removed and buried.  
  
"Eleven!" Nejiru cries from the platform. "I need you up here!"  
  
Kagome takes her eyes off the woman and goes up onto the platform.  
  
A wooden chopping block has been placed on it. A stack of woven baskets is next to it.  
  
A group of prisoners is lined up behind the chopping block. The group includes two small boys, one about eight and the other about twelve, a woman, and a couple of men.  
  
Nejiru motions Kagome to him, "Your job will be to grab the served head and show it to the crowd, then drop it in a basket."  
  
Kagome grimaces under her hood, but nods. "Yes, sir."  
  
"The man Kazuo and his family are to be executed for treason. He lead a revolt in the village of Nagoya. His wife and children are to be executed because it was their responsibility to stop him, and failing to stop their husband and father, they should have warned the Lord of the Yuki's servants so those servants could have stopped the revolt." Nejiru declares in a loud voice to the crowd.  
  
One of the guards brings up the smallest boy. The boy follows without any trouble. He kneels down and rests his head on the block. He asks, "Sir. I have a sore on my right shoulder: please cut off my head from the left shoulder, lest you should hurt me. Alas! I know not how to die, nor what I should do."  
  
(Author's note: quote from Tales of Old Japan. Pg 194)  
  
Everyone pauses. And whispers sweep through the crowd as people pass along what the boy said.  
  
Nejiru, after what even Kagome can tell is a long pause, "Yes, boy, that is fine. Close your eyes and everything will be over, quickly."  
  
The boy closes his eyes and says, "thank you, sir."  
  
Nejiru draws his sword and in a flash of light cuts the boys head off.  
  
He hisses, "Show them the head, eleven."  
  
Kagome, unfreezes from the paralysis that the boy's speech caused, bends down and shows the crowd the boys head.  
  
Another whispering shush of sound sweeps the crowd.  
  
Kagome quickly bends down and gently places the head of the boy in the basket. "I hate this." She hisses, just loud enough for Nejiru to hear.  
  
"Yes. So did I, but, there was no way out of it, now." Nejiru replies. "I think the family is not going to like the reaction to this."  
  
Kagome glances at the crowd. "Yes. I think so, too."  
  
The older boy, also calmly and quietly is lead to the block and his head is removed.  
  
Their mother and finally the man Kazuo are killed. All die calmly and with dignity.  
  
The crowd's mood change, while they never get rowdy or really noisy, the party atmosphere of earlier vanished when the boys head was cut off and it never returned.  
  
Not even the burning alive of an arsonist, which normally is a popular punishment, fails to change the atmosphere.  
  
(Author's note: remember all the wooden houses in Kyoto? Because of that, arsonists were burned to death . . . )  
  
The soldiers guarding the nobles quickly arrest a couple of commoners and they are quickly added to the schedule. The charge is petty theft and they are given a dozen lashes and released.  
  
'Wrong.' Kagome thinks as everyone is preparing to return to the Yuki family compound. 'At first, the crowd loved this, but later. I think the Yuki family just made some enemies today.' The crowd is slowly dispersing.  
  
'And grabbing those two loudmouths and instantly charging and whipping them. That might have quieted the crowd, but it did not change their minds.' She thinks, 'the wrong thing to do.'  
  
She pauses, 'does this help us or hurt us? I think . . . it helps, in case something goes wrong, and they end up chasing us down the street. I think that we might get some help. Like someone trips them, a door might suddenly open for us. Someone might cover for us, if only for a few seconds.'  
  
Later . . .  
  
Back at the compound . . .  
  
It's almost nightfall.  
  
Kagome and Sango meet in the courtyard. They both glance around, and notice that there are people paying attention to them.  
  
"How did your day go?" 'Hojo' asks.  
  
"Nothing special." 'Hajake', Sango replies.  
  
"Same here." 'Hojo' replies.  
  
Outside the compound as they walk to the inn where they are renting the room where the boys have been all day.  
  
"How was it, really, Kagome?" Sango asks, in a whisper, as they walk down the crowded streets. "Your eyes look strange?"  
  
A pause, as Kagome thinks. "It's not something that I want to do again, that much I'm sure of, Sango." She shakes her head. "But, I did get a basic floor plan, so once we get the boys inside, I'll know where to go."  
  
Sango nods. "And I managed to study the protection scrolls around the front entrance. Once Miroku looks at them, we should know what we'll be fighting." She pauses, "unless something comes up, I'd say we dress them up as girls, to get them inside the compound and see what happens."  
  
"Smash in, grab the shard and run?" Kagome asks.  
  
Sango shrugs. "It should work, I think. The timing will be critical, but, I think if we ask for a room inside the compound, then bring in the Monk and Inu-yasha, dressed as women, then tomorrow night . . . "  
  
Kagome nods. "That should work."  
  
A pause. Kagome asks, "how was your day, really, Sango?"  
  
Sango pauses, she thinks, 'I did not like killing that peasant, but, he knew what the penalty would be and he accepted it fearlessly. I've known samurai that would have begged. He just bowed and exposed his neck, so I could cleanly cut his head off.'  
  
"Like you, Kagome, it wasn't something that I'd want to do again." Sango replies.  
  
Kagome nods.  
  
They walk the rest of the way to the inn in silence . . .  
  
At the inn . . .  
  
Kagome frowns as she walks down the corridor to the room. 'My senses are feeling something. Like someone I've felt before?'  
  
Sango, noticing as Kagome missing a step, "Kagome?"  
  
Kagome shakes her head, "nothing, Sango."  
  
Sango nods and opens the sliding door.  
  
"Come on in, girls." Kagura announces from inside the room. "I've been waiting for you, two."  
  
She smiles behind her fan . . .  
  
The end chapter 14.  
  
Authors' notes:  
  
Kagome might seem a little OOC, but, I do have her in a very unusual position, so please take that into account.  
  
Part of this chapter is from "Everyday Life in Traditional japan" by Charles Dunn. And Tales of Old Japan by A. B. Mitford.  
  
The punishment as entertainment for the crowd. This was common, even in the US. (Hangings in the west were entertainment and did attract large crowds on occasion.) Sigh . . . this pretty much ends the historical parts of the story. After this, starting with chapter 15, I'm planning on the action to start. (There's still some army command and control issues, I'd like to show, but the action I'm planning should do that.)  
  
Chapter 15 . . . when? I'm not sure. Normally I'd say early June, but, I'm planning on attending project a-kon then, so, we'll see what happens.  
  
Thank you for reading. Jeff shelton 


	15. attack part 1

A Shard in Kyoto chapter 15

the attack part 1.

At the inn . . .

Kagome frowns as she walks down the corridor to the room. 'My senses are feeling something. Like someone I've felt before?'

Sango, noticing as Kagome missing a step, asks, "Kagome?"

Kagome shakes her head, "nothing, Sango."

Sango nods and opens the sliding door.

"Come on in, girls." Kagura announces from inside the room. "I've been waiting for you, two."

She smiles behind her fan . . .

In her other hand is Shippo. He is unconscious.

Sitting against one is Inu-yasha, Miroku and Kirara. They appear to be unhurt and free to move.

"Kagura!" Kagome gurgles in surprise.

Sango pulls her sword.

"Wait!" Miroku yells.

"I do have a proposition for you." Kagura states, still hiding her face.

"Not a fight?" Kagome's eyes widen in surprise.

"Shut the door, please." Kagura motions with her fan. "And then we will talk."

Kagome and Sango look at each other. Sango nods, sharply. Kagome sighs . . .

They both enter the room and Sango, after making sure that no one is watching, closes the sliding door.

Sango remains standing at the door. Her sword is still out. She is swinging it, slowly in front of her, obviously prepared for a fight.

Kagome moves over and sits next to Inu-yasha.

"Inu-yasha." She whispers.

He shakes his head. "She popped in." His eyes look up. Kagome can see a hole in the roof.

Kagura interrupts, "I was surprised to see that Inu-yasha and the others didn't have any protection against the humans' magic that weakens Demons."

Inu-yasha bares his teeth at Kagura as he growls, "When we leave this damn city, bitch, I'll get you."

Kagura smiles, and flicks her fan in front of her face, as she says, "Inu-yasha, you poor deluded weak fool."

Inu-yasha purples. His claws scrap the ground.

"You said you have a proposition." Kagome says, as she places a hand on Inu-yasha's shoulder. Her eyes are looking at Shippo.

Kagura looks down at Shippo. She looks at Sango. "Here Sango. Something to occupy you." Her wind powers lift up Shippo and fly him to Sango.

Sango has to put up her sword and gathers up Shippo into her arms and she holds him to her chest.

"Sango?" Kagome whispers/asks.

"He's fine." Kagura states. "Tried and hurting from this city, but otherwise fine. I haven't hurt him." She pauses. "Of course, you do know, that I could have easily killed everyone in this room, before you two returned."

Kagome and Sango look at the two boys. Miroku nods, sharply, "When she appeared, she knocked me unconscious and by the time that I woke up . . . "

"I could have killed him."

"Ok." Sango growls. "You had the upper hand."

"Have." Kagura says.

"And you say that you have a proposition," Sango continues, ignoring the interruption. "What is it?"

Kagura nods. "All of us in this room want the shard in the possession of the Yuki family. Want I propose is that we combine forces to acquire it."

"And if we think that we can get it on our own?" Kagome asks.

"Can you?" Kagura smiles, "There is nothing to prevent me from leaving, my dear child. I can always tell them about you. Or perhaps, I can tell the couple of monasteries that are after you. Or just tell anyone about Inu-yasha." Her fan points to him.

"Fine." Inu-yasha growls, "you think that you've got us over a barrel."

"I think?" Kagura smiles. She sighs, "As much as I would love to make you eat those words, little puppy, I will forgo that pleasure for now."

Kagome squeezes Inu-yasha's shoulder. "Ok. You can screw us up."

"Screw?" Kagura frowns. She waves her fan, ignoring the modern slang, its meaning from the context, is obvious.

"What is your scheme?" Miroku asks.

Kagura nods to him. "Finally someone that wants to get down to business."

She pauses, "I've scouted the Yuki family compound. To be honest, there are a couple of powerful anti-demon spells around the compound. While I can break them, the effort would be noticed, and I'm unsure about what would happen next."

Sango pulls out a piece of paper and flips it to Miroku. "I copied that from the inside of the gate. Anti-demon spells, I think."

Miroku looks at the piece of paper. "Standard." He says. "And breakable."

"What the fuck do you want, Kagura?" Inu-yasha growls, he is tried of waiting.

Kagura waves her fan at the group. "Since you are weakened by the city, I'll help you acquire the shard in the possession of the Yuki family. I'm sure that, it'll come to a fight."

"And in return, you'll want that shard." Inu-yasha growls.

"Of course."

"Just the shard in the possession of the Yuki family?" Miroku asks.

A pause, a Kagura fans herself, as she looks at the group. "The answer to that question, Monk, will depend on the results of the fight against the Yuki family." She says, bends her head toward him.

Kagome shakes her head, no. "Kagura, if we are going to work together, then we must trust each other."

"Trust! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Kagura Laughs. "Trust is for fools."

"No, Kagura, it's not." Kagome states. "If we are watching for a time and a place to backstab each other, things will go bad." She pauses. "How many times have you seen us succeed, while our foes are fighting along themselves?"

Kagura opens her mouth. She shuts it, and covers her face with her fan. She pauses. "I must return with a shard." She states.

Kagome thinks, 'what to do? If we don't team up, then she'll fight against us. Can we win that fight?' her eyes flick to Inu-yasha, his face strained and pained.

'Probably not. Sango is a great warrior, but she is only one person. That leaves the shard in the hand of Kagura, or more likely, in the hands of the Yuki family. And, if it remains in their hands, they will ignite a major war, which will kill thousands.' She grimaces.

Kagura's eyebrows raise, as she waits for Kagome to speak.

'If Naraku gets another shard that won't kill thousands within weeks. And, we will fight him again, and we will take the back shard when we win.' Kagome purses her lips and nods.

"You can have the shard, Kagura." Kagome states.

"What!?" Inu-yasha screams. "Motherfucking bitch! You can't do that!"

Kagome turns to Inu-yasha, "It's better that she has it. I don't want the Fuki family to have it."

"You want to try to stop the war that is growing." Miroku says in a calm voice.

Kagome nods. "IF the choice is Kagura or Fuki family. I'll choose Kagura." She eyes flick to Kagura, as she continues, "We will beat her and Naraku, so, Inu-yasha, just think of it as a temporary loss."

Kagura's eyes narrow at Kagome's confidence.

Inu-yasha curls his lips. "Once I get it in my hands, I ain't giving it up."

Kagura and Kagome look into each other's eyes. They nod.

Inu-yasha's eyes narrow. He pats his chest. He can feel the jar where Kagome keeps the shards. 'Why didn't she take this when I was unconscious? Yeah, she has to know that Kagome always keep the shards, so she didn't look for them.' He thinks.

"Then we are agreed?" Sango asks. "WE team up to take the shard for the Yuki family. Kagura will get it."

Inu-yasha growls.

"But, only after everyone is out of the city and we've shaken the pursuit." Miroku adds. "I'm sure that the Yuki family, and maybe more will chase after us."

Everyone nods, as they understand that unlike most of their adventures, there are a huge number of people that want the shard. And since, Inu-yasha and Kagura are part of the attack team, the chance of any attack being sneaky is insignificant.

"Acceptable." Kagura agrees. "Let's discuss the details of the attack."

Inu-yasha, Miroku, Sango and Kagome look at each other. They nod. Kagome digs through her bag for some paper and pens. Everyone gathers around, looking and commenting as Miroku begins to draw the compound, so they can plan.

A few minutes later.

SNAP!

"Touch me, again, pervert." Kagura growls at Miroku. Her fan just hit his wrist.

Miroku blinks and reaches out to grope her ass, again.

Kagura slaps him across the face, then pointedly moves away from Miroku.

"You asked for it." Sango remarks to Kagura in a dry voice.

"I did not!" Kagura.

"Yes, you did. You told him to touch you again." Kagome adds in, also in a dry voice.

Kagura looks at Miroku, the oil lamp behind him, makes it seems like a halo is surrounding his head. "I was only doing what you asked me to do." He says in a very clam, peaceful voice.

She snorts, and looks at Sango and Kagome. "Why haven't you two castrated this pervert?" she asks in a deadly serious voice. The edge of her fan glistens as she wills it into razor-sharpness.

Miroku's hands twitch as he instinctively covers his groin.

Inu-yasha growls at Kagura, as his hands cover his groin.

Sango pulls her sword. She taps Kagura's fan with it. "No."

Kagura eyebrows rise. "Why not?"

Sango blushes and sputters.

Kagome moves in front of Miroku, protecting him. "Because we are not going to do it. Neither of us wish to really hurt him."

Miroku opens his mouth, 'no. I'm not going to say that. It would just throw more fuel on this fire. I will not remind Kagome and Sango about all the bruises that I've suffered.'

Kagome spins around and slaps Miroku's face, as he pulls back his hand from her rear end. "But, he just keeps asking for it."

Miroku sputters, "can we talk about tomorrow?"

The three girls look at each other. "You two are the ones that have to put up with him." Kagura states as her fan changes back into a normal fan. She glares at Miroku's groin. "You will not touch me, again. I do not desire your affections. And, if you do, I will make sure that you will not desire any female, ever again."

"Let's stop with the threats," Sango says. "And talk about tomorrow."

Everyone nods. And, with Kagura far away from Miroku, they begin to seriously plan the next day's actions.

Later. In the middle of the night.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Kagome asks as she stands in the middle of the open doorway. "Tomorrow will be a busy day, and you need your rest, Sango."

Sango, dressed in her combat armor, with Kirara's and Shippo's head sticking out of her backpack, replies. "Kagome." She sighs. "Do you think that we'll be able to return to this room?"

Kagome shakes her head, no. 'the plan is fairly simple, but, it's not subtle, and it will cause people to notice us.'

"And there is no way that you're going to take, or allow any of us to take, Shippo along. Not in his condition, that's far too dangerous."

Kagome nods, yes.

"So, I'm going to leave the city and take Kirara and Shippo with me. I'll find some cave, tree, some place safe. Kirara can watch and protect Shippo, and tomorrow as we leave the city, we can pick them up."

"But, what about your rest?"

Sango shrugs. "I will be fine, Kagome."

Kagome purses her lips, and then she hugs Sango hard. "Be safe. And come back in one piece."

Sango hugs her friend. "Don't worry about me. Any thief that I meet tonight, won't live to regret it."

Sango lets go of Kagome and vanishes into the darkness of the night.

"You know," Kagura says after she silently moved up behind Kagome. "I wonder. Attacking you through the Kitsune or maybe . . . " She stops talking.

You have to when . . .

Kagome spins around, her hand glowing, grabbing Kagura by the throat and shoving her against the doorjamb. Kagome's eyes are blazing. Her voice is low and angry. "Touch Shippo and I will lose my temper." Smoke from Kagura's burning flesh, as Kagome's hand burns her throat, rises.

Kagome releases Kagura and spins, stalking into the room.

Kagura's eyes are wide, her free hand going to her throat as she feels the burns, and winces from the pain, stares at Kagome.

Inu-yasha, relaxes, he had tensed up when he saw Kagome spin, and remarks, "If I was you, I'd forget about that."

Kagura eyes flick to him.

"I can smell your fear."

Kagura slowly nods. 'Now, I know why Naraku fears her more than anybody else. The look in her eyes . . . There might be something worse than attacking a mother's child, but I can't think of what though.'

Miroku sighs, deeply, 'and the girls wonder why I chase after them, even though they keep saying no. How many other women would travel through some of the nastiest neighborhoods in Kyoto, at night, alone, knowing that tomorrow, without rest, that she'll be major combat? Or she is powerful enough to cause some of the most deadly creatures in japan to fear her, without even trying? What man wouldn't want their love?'

later, soon after dawn . . .

Sango, dressed in her combat armor, but with a man's kimono draped over it. Kagome, dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, approach the Yuki family compound.

Sango places her hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Are you sure, Kagome? I can make up some excuse to go down there and help you."

Kagome shakes her head, no. "No. Sango, they'll need you up here, once the boys and Kagura begin their attack. That'll cause enough confusion that I can sneak to where the shard is and take it. I want you to be able to help them."

"Don't you trust Kagura?"

Kagome grimaces, "I trust that she was telling the truth last night. Whither or not, she'll remember that promise in combat." Kagome shrugs. "That I don't know. I hope so. And I think she will." She sighs. "Truthfully, Sango, I'm afraid that Inu-yasha will try to attack like he's at full strength."

"Ahh. I see." Sango says. She nods. "Yes. He will, won't he. No, matter what he promised last night."

They walk up to the entrance of the compound. Sango meets a couple of the guards yesterday, so they wave 'Hajake' and 'Hojo' through the gate. Sango pauses, though, as she enters. 'Hmm. Most of the people are acting like normal. But, something seems odd. Something . . . ' she thinks.

"I'll see you later." Sango says to Kagome. Her eyes flick to the other guards, watching them.

Kagome nods. "Yes. I will see you later."

Kagome thinks, as she walks down to the dungeon. 'The boys and Kagura are supposed to attack in little while. Miroku will use his mystic powers to negate the anti-demon spells. Then, Kagura and Inu-yasha will attack the compound.'

She nods and says 'hello', 'good morning,' etc. as she walks. She thinks, 'yesterday, Sango noticed that a lot of the samurai and guards were hung-over during the morning. There is a lot of saki around, so, that's certainly possible. And, during the morning, a lot of people are busy doing things like, taking a bath, stretching/exercising, cleaning up before the lord of the family comes around, so, we hope that attacking early in the morning is the best time.'

Kagome delicately shudders. 'Kagura thought about if I volunteered to watch the prisoners at night. That way they could attack at night, and get an even greater advantage. I said no. If I volunteer, I'm sure that will cause my boss to get even more suspicious of me. And, there is no reason to think that he'd do it. Besides the thought of walking that dungeon, at night, frightens me.'

She pauses, and shudders again. 'If I'm afraid, and I'm walking outside the cells . . . what must it be like too be in the cells? At night? And knowing that if the guards wanted to have fun, by beating up a prisoner, there is nothing to stop them. They can always claim that the prison tried to escape, and they had to beat him up to stop him.'

Kagome frowns, and she starts to pay attention to the guards around her. They are nervous. "Akio?" 'Hojo' asked the second the command. "Is there something wrong?"

Akio, who had been talking to a couple of the other guards, turns around and nods. "Yes, Hojo. There is." He frowns. He pauses. "And you slept outside the compound, too, didn't you."

"Sir?" 'Hojo' asks, surprised. "You were aware of that, sir."

"And are you aware that there are rumors that we will be attacked today?"

'Hojo's eyes widen, "no. sir. I did not know anything about that."

Kagome thinks, 'did Kagura double cross us? But, how could she? She stayed with us last night, to prevent that from happening. Inu-yasha made sure about that.'

"There are strong rumors that the Adachi, Iga, and other families are preparing to attack." Akio replies.

'He thinks that I'm part of it.' Kagome thinks.

'Hojo' bows, deeply, as 'Hojo' say, "Sir, what do I have to do to prove that I'm not spying for those families."

"First, you'll come with me to Nejiru's office." Akio orders. 'Hojo' purses his lips, nods and follows Akio into the office.

"Here he is, boss." Akio says to Nejiru. Nejiru looks up from the paperwork that he was working on. He stands up. Both of them, place their hands on their weapons.

"Good." He looks at 'Hojo'. He sighs. "Personally, I think that my orders aren't good, boy. I saw you yesterday, and I don't think that you're a spy." He shrugs. "But orders are orders."

"Sir, I am not a spy." 'Hojo' pleads, earnestly.

"My orders say that you are. You are new. And, yesterday you were seen talking to someone in the crowd, and you passed along something between the two of you."

'Somebody must have seen me and that woman talking, and misunderstood it.' Kagome thinks.

"So, I've got orders to place you into a cell, Hojo." Nejiru states. "Nothing personal. I think that you're a good young man, actually, but."

'Hojo's jaws work. "How come the guards at the gate didn't stop me?" he asks.

Akio shrugs. "We just got the orders. It probably hasn't gotten to them yet."

"Who and what, exactly, am I supposed to be spying for?" 'Hojo' asks.

Nejiru shrugs. "The orders don't say. I got the idea, though, you're supposed to be working for the Iga family." He pauses. "Now. Are you going to resist?"

Kagome thinks, as her flicks around the room. 'Resist? They are two real warriors, and I've got a sword that I can barely swing. But, if I don't, they'll throw me into a cell? But, maybe, I got to know a couple of the guys yesterday. Maybe with a little luck.'

"Sir, is my friend, Hajake, also to be captured?" 'Hojo' asks. 'If Sango is thrown into the same cell. Then we can escape together.' 

Nejiru shrugs, "he wasn't mentioned. But, I'd expect him to joining you soon."

'Hojo' nods. "I'll go peacefully. I am not a spy. And that should prove it better than anything else I can do."

"Hand over your weapon, then." Nejiru orders. "I would normally order you to strip and give you a loincloth, but, since you worked for me yesterday. I won't"

Kagome suppresses a sigh of relief. 'If I stripped in front of them, and they found out that I'm a woman, who knows what they might do?' she thinks.

"Come on Hojo." Akio says, as he hands Kagome's sword to Nejiru. "I'll put you in an empty cell."

'Hojo' nods and follows Akio into the dungeon.

Kagome thinks, 'Hurry Sango. I'll need your help to escape one of those cells.'

Outside, with Sango . . .

Sango is walking around, near the entrance, greeting and trying to make friends. 'I want to stay near the entrance. Miroku will show up first. He'll put on his wandering monk routine, get inside and then he'll destroy the anti-demon spells. Once Kagura and Inu-yasha see him go inside, they are to count to one hundred, then attack.'

As she talks with the people milling about, she hears the rumors of the new day. The main one is that the compound might be attacked today. Sango breathes a sigh of relief when she hears it is from another human family, not by demons.

She thinks, 'judging by the rumors, I'll say that someone else started to do some investigating like we did. And, they decided that, no matter how many shards are in the city, the Yuki family has, at least, one.'

She pauses, rubbing her chin, 'Although . . . that rumor that the god Hachiman planted the rumor is a good one. The god of war would want the city at war with itself. That way, every family, to gain his support, would make offerings to him. I could see his priesthood spreading the knowledge of a shard around. It would be to their benefit.'

Time passes . . .

'Hurry up, boys!' Sango thinks, 'you guys should have acted by now?'

She moves to the gate and looks out. She conceals a sigh. She can see Miroku. She shakes her head. 'He's talking to a woman. And there comes Inu-yasha to get him to stop talking. I'm sure. No wonder he is late.'

"Hajake?" a person from behind her says.

"Yes?" 'Hajake' spins around. There is a group of a six or seven samurai around her. Sango remembers a couple of them from yesterday. She doesn't remember the names, but if they were good enough to be part of the lord's bodyguards, they should be good warriors.

"I've got orders to bring down to the dungeon. You're a spy." The samurai says.

'Hajake' frowns, fiercely. "And who has been spreading that lie?" 'His' hand goes to the hilt of his sword.

They all grab their hilts. The people around the gate, stop, turn and look at the confrontation.

Miroku, approaching the gate, can see, and he can recognize Sango anywhere. 'What's going on? I'd better hurry up!' he thinks.

"Are you refusing to come?" The leader states in a menacing voice.

She pauses as she thinks, 'I need to be up here. But, do I start a fight?'

"Grab him." The leader says to the samurai next to him.

Sango's sword leaves its sheath with a zing.

All of the samurai's swords leave their sheath's with a zing.

Sango shifts her stance, putting her sword over her head, and stares at the leader. 'I'll force him to act first. None of his men are going to backstab me.'

Time pauses, as Sango and the samurai stare at each other.

'Good.' Miroku thinks, as he jogs up to the gate. 'All the guards are watching her, not me.' He sneaks into the compound, without a problem.

He shakes his head at the anti-demon spells, and places his spell scrolls onto top of them. A flash of light occurs and the scrolls vanish.

He turns to watch Sango's confrontation.

"Sango!" he cries, as he sees one of the samurai, slowly, quietly, sneaking up next to Sango's back, sword raised.

Sango spins, her sword slices the hands off the samurai that was sneaking up on her. His sword and his hands fall to the ground.

The samurai screams, but shoves his wrists into Sango's face, trying to blind her as his blood spurts out.

Sango ducks under the red stream of blood (it does get into her hair, though), her leg kicks out, hitting him in the stomach, throwing him against a couple of the other samurai.

She spins blocking a couple of swords, sparks fly as the sword hit each other. She begins to aggressively attack the other samurai. None of which can match her speed or strength.

"Monk!" one of the gate guards, his spear pointing at Miroku, yells. "I'm going to skewer you!"

Miroku dodges the spear point, grabs the spear, just behind the sharp head, and using his strength pulls the spear out of the grasp of the guard. He smashes the butt of the spear over the guard's head, knocking him unconscious, and shattering the spear.

"Monk!" Sango cries, as she spins, "Do you need help!?"

Miroku yells back, as a couple of guards begin to menace him with their spears and swords. "No!" He begins to unwrap his hand. "I don't need a hand!"

The unique vacuuming sound of his curse is heard as he opens the palm of his hand, pulling the spears and swords out of the grasp of the guards.

In the time it takes to count to twenty, the guards nearest Miroku are disarmed. They are either, running away, grabbing the gate, or laying on the ground, scraping the ground, trying to avoid being pulled toward Miroku.

The half-dozen or so samurai near Sango are down. Most are unconscious, but a couple are bleeding heavily and will die from blood loss in a few minutes.

Then . . .

"What the fuck!" Inu-yasha yells. He and Kagura, on her feather, are overhead. "You two weren't supposed!"

Kagura spins the feather cloud, violently, knocking Inu-yasha off. "Bitch!" Inu-yasha yells looking up at her, as he lands.

Kagura points her fan at the entrance of the main house.

Next to the entrance are two pony sized bronze lion-like dogs, known as Jishi's. Most people, looking at them, assume that they just decorations. But. They are not.

They are magical creatures that were made to fight demons.

Their jaws screech as the bronze hinges move. Their heads turn. Their metal claws tear up the wooden platforms that they were on.

They jump on the compound ground, to defend the house, like they are supposed to . . .

One of them looks at Kagura.

The other looks at Inu-yasha.

Flame begins to curl from their metal mouths.

'We are in trouble!' Kagura thinks. 'These are very powerful creations! Defeating them will be difficult!'

Inu-yasha, with Tetsusaiga in his hands, growls at the Jishi. 'I feel like crap. And using my full powers hurts like a son of a bitch.' He thinks.

Sango looks around the compound. More soldiers are coming out of the house. She shifts the grip on her sword. 'I'm not going to be able to be kind to these soldiers. I will have to attack to kill, not hurt.'

Miroku frowns. 'My mystic senses? I felt something?' he spins around and looks at where the mystic scrolls were at.

His eyes open. 'Concealed spell!' A symbol glows in the wood of the gate.

A symbol of bad luck.

Miroku screams! He looks at his cursed hand. He looks at the top of the wall. An archer just fried an arrow into his cursed hand.

He cannot use it . . .

In the dungeons . . .

'What's happening!?' Kagome thinks. 'I'm hearing a lot of shouted orders. The fight must have started.'

She stares at the closed cell. 'How can I escape?'

Akio opens the door. "I'm going to find out what you know." He growls.

"Nothing! Akio. Nothing!" Kagome cries at she backs up in the cell. She stops. Her back is against the wall.

'He's alone. The confusion of the guy's attack must have started.' Kagome thinks. Her eyes flick around Akio. 'Maybe I can get around him and escape?'

Kagome tries to run around Akio.

Akio grabs Kagome's sleeve and pulls, ripping the kimono. Kagome trips over the torn kimono.

"You're a girl!" Akio cries, as he looks at Kagome. Kagome is sprawled on the ground, her clothes ripped and exposing her breasts.

Akio's face changes, becoming beastly. "You are a spy! I'll rape the truth out of you!"

He looms over Kagome . . .

The end chapter 15.

About the new families mentioned in this chapter. There were dozens of families in Kyoto. And, the group is not the only people looking for the shard/shards. So, there are things happening that the group has no knowledge of...

Thank you for reading

jeff shelton


	16. attack part 2

A shard in Kyoto chapter 16

'What's happening!?' Kagome thinks. 'I'm hearing a lot of shouted orders. The fight must have started.'

She stares at the closed cell. 'How can I escape?'

Akio opens the door. "I'm going to find out what you know." He growls.

"Nothing! Akio. Nothing!" Kagome cries at she backs up in the cell. She stops. Her back is against the wall.

'He's alone. The confusion of the guy's attack must have started.' Kagome thinks. Her eyes flick around Akio. 'Maybe I can get around him and escape?'

Kagome tries to run around Akio.

Akio grabs Kagome's sleeve and pulls, ripping the kimono. Kagome trips over the torn kimono.

"You're a girl!" Akio cries, as he looks at Kagome. Kagome is sprawled on the ground, her clothes ripped and exposing her breasts.

Akio's face changes, becoming beastly. "You are a spy! I'll rape the truth out of you!"

He looms over Kagome.

Akio's eyes widen, then they close and he collapses face first to the ground.

Kagome can see a partially burned doll floating in midair. She shifts her senses.

The little ghost girl, whose doll, Emi, she found and gave her, is floating (no feet are visible, which is common for Japanese ghosts) in the doorway. She must have hit Akio on the head with her doll.

Kagome scrambles to her feet, gathering and fixing her clothes as she does. "Thank you, child." She says as she bows to the girl child.

"You helped me." The ghostly girl says. "I should help you."

Kagome, pauses, and then says, "As much as I would like to stay and talk with you, my friends are being attacked and I need to do things."

The ghostly little girl nods and fades away.

Kagome leaves her cell. She looks at the entrance. She can hear shouts and cries from that direction. 'No. I've got to get the shard. If I don't do that, then nothing else matters.' She thinks.

She quickly walks deeper into the dungeon.

The guard at the end of the corridor says, "Stop right there, Hojo." He points his wooden bludgeon at Kagome.

'Bluff.' Kagome thinks. She concentrates on her power.

The pupils of her eyes fade. Her head begins to glow. "Run, mortal." Her voice, while still feminine, is spooky.

The sound of the wooded bludgeon hitting the ground, causes Kagome to stops concentrating, and once her eyes change back to normal, her lips twitch into a smile.

The guard is laying on the floor into front of her, unconscious. His superstitious fears have caused him to faint.

She steps over him and begins to fumble with the door, trying to open it.

A couple of seconds later, somebody calls from the other side of the door, and says, "Arata? What happened?"

"He's unconscious!" Kagome calls in 'Hojo's' voice. "Help me! I think he's in trouble!"

Mumbles and sounds float through the door, as Kagome continues to try to open the door.

"Step back!" a voice calls from the other side of the door.

Kagome picks up the bludgeon and stands to back, so the men on the other side of the door can see 'Hojo' through the door. It is hidden behind her back.

The door opens and a couple of soldiers stand in the doorway. One of them, quickly, kneels down and starts to slap the unconscious guard awake. "Arata?" he says.

The other guard looks at 'Hojo' and then at other two on the ground.

Kagome grimaces, then smiles. 'Let's try magic again.' She thinks.

She uses one hand and she opens her clothes, showing her breasts, "Hey guys! Something has caused me to become a woman! Magic! Run!"

The two guys look at Kagome. Both go deathly white.

Kagome begins to moan, like from pleasure. "Something is entering me!" 'Hojo' cries.

Both soldiers run past her, screaming about magic, leaving their unconscious friend on the ground.

Kagome smiles. 'I didn't even have to hurt them.' She, still carrying the bludgeon, just in case, enters the open doorway and walks down the corridor.

She concentrates on her mystic senses, trying to locate the shard, as she slowly, cautiously walks down the dark corridor.

'The shard is moving?' Kagome thinks. She hurries up.

She stops in front of a door and tries to open it. It doesn't open.

'I hope this works.' She thinks. She steps back a couple of steps. She looks at the wooden bludgeon and focuses her powers on it.

It starts to glow.

She throws it at the door.

BOOM!

A flash of light

"Cough!" Kagome hides her face, as she breathes through her sleeve. "A little too much power." She chokes out, as she waits for the smoke to clear.

She walks into the room.

It is a room full of chests and boxes of various sizes. Exactly how big it is, Kagome can't tell, there are too many boxes, and the lighting in the room is quite poor. (Paper lanterns aren't electric lights.)

Standing next to the wall, not directly across from her, but, off to her right, is Lord Yuki Shiba and the Lord of the Yuki.

Both are in full samurai armor, with swords.

In the right hand of the Lord of the Yuki is the shard. It is glowing darkly in the gloom.

"Spy!" the Lord of the Yuki cries. The shard glows and a beam of dark energy streaks toward Kagome.

Kagome, instinctively, lifts her arms. They glow, white as they block the beam.

"Sorcerer!" The Lord of the Yuki cries.

"No sir! Witch!" Yuki Shiba calls, as he stands to the right of the Lord of the Yuki. He points to 'Hojo's' chest.

When Kagome moved her arms, her clothes opened up, and she is flashing them her breasts.

Kagome blushes deeply, "ekks!" and she closes her clothes.

"Die!" Another beam lashes out at Kagome.

But, her powers instinctively block the blast.

'What do I do?' Kagome thinks as she ties her belt properly. 'Sooner or later, he'll stop with the shard, pull out his sword and chop me to pieces. I can't stop him.'

Kagome opens her mouth to say . . .

Something . . .

But, she closes her mouth with a snap.

Lord Yuki Shiba is pulling his sword from the side of the Lord of the Yuki.

Blood spurts from the Lord of the Yuki's mouth as he collapses to the ground. He topples over, face first, to the ground and dies.

The shard of the jewel of four souls rolls from his dead hand.

Yuki Shiba pulls out a silk handkerchief and cleans his sword.

"Why!?" Kagome croaks out.

He looks at her.

Kagome hunches over. She has looked into the eyes of a lot of nasty, evil men and demons, and she's rarely seen such hard eyes.

"I am the councilor for the Yuki family. It is my responsibility to make sure that the head of the family acts in such a way to increase the power and influence of the Family."

His eyes look down to the shard. "That poisonous thing turned the lord of the Yuki into a power-mad fool. His plans were leading the family to ruin, not to success."

"Lord Yuki Shiba," Kagome says as she stands up straight. "I am the priestess of the jewel. I am trying to put it together and purify it."

He looks at her. He pauses. "Kikyo? Or Kagome? The rumors are vague."

"Kagome." She says, "Please, give me the shard."

He kicks the shard to her. "IF you do not purify it, I will kill you."

She bends down and picks it, purifying it, effortlessly.

He nods. "You are the priestess of the jewel."

"Thank you, Lord Yuki Shiba." Kagome whispers.

"Stand closer to me, woman." Yuki Shiba orders.

Kagome swallows hard and steps close to him.

Yuki Shiba eyes rake Kagome's body as he looks at her. "Your friend?"

"Sango, a demon exterminator."

He nods. "I've heard of her." He grunts. "She's better than I heard and better thought that a woman could be."

His eyes flick to the ceiling, the sounds of combat can be heard coming from the doorway that Kagome came through, and the smaller, secret doorway that Yuki Shiba is standing in front of.

"You beat the Lord of the Yuki in a spell battle, and then knocked me unconscious." He states. "Then you and your friends left before we could stop them."

"That's what you'll say to the families that are planning to attack you, right?" Kagome asks.

He nods. "You will, Miko, be my mortal enemy."

Kagome grimaces.

Yuki Shiba reaches out and grasps Kagome's chin. His rough, calloused hand scratch her smooth skin.

He stares into her eyes, 'Let's see how strong her will is?' he thinks.

Kagome stares into his eyes. 'He's trying to break my will.'

Time passes . . .

"If I had come to you and asked for the shard, nicely, would you have given it to me?" Kagome, finally asks.

Yuki Shiba's lips twitch in the beginnings of a smile. Perhaps he nods, perhaps, he doesn't.

He looks away from her eyes. He kneels before Kagome. He takes off his helmet and says, "You need to strike me unconscious."

His left hand finds a dagger and he hands it to Kagome. "Use this."

Kagome grabs the dagger and raises it over her head. She pauses. "You know, Yuki Shiba, with you kneeling before me, your head bowed, a weapon of yours in my hands. It looks like your pledging allegiance to me."

Yuki Shiba, his head still bowed, says in a low voice. "Hmmm . . . depending on the viewpoint that might be correct. Kept the dagger, return it to me, someday." He pauses, "Strike now."

"I am sorry," Kagome whispers and she swings hard and knocks him out.

Kagome's head whips around, she can hear soldiers coming down the corridor to this room. She can see the light of the torches that they are carrying.

She turns, still clutching the dagger, and enters the secret passage, closing it behind her.

Kagome starts to climb the stairs to the surface . . .

Now. Back to the others.

(From chapter 15)

Kagura points her fan at the entrance of the main house.

Next to the entrance are two pony sized bronze lion-like dogs, known as Jishi's. Most people, looking at them, assume that they are just decorations. But. They are not.

They are magical creatures that were made to fight demons.

Their jaws screech as the bronze hinges move. Their heads turn. Their metal claws tear up the wooden platforms that they were on.

They jump on the compound ground, to defend the house, like they are supposed to . . .

One of them looks at Kagura.

The other looks at Inu-yasha.

Flame begins to curl from their metal mouths.

'We are in trouble!' Kagura thinks. 'These are very powerful creations! Defeating them will be difficult!'

Inu-yasha, with Tetsusaiga in his hands, growls at the Jishi. 'I feel like crap. And using my full powers hurts like a son of a bitch.' He thinks.

Sango looks around the compound. More soldiers are coming out of the house. She shifts the grip on her sword. 'I'm not going to be able to be kind to these soldiers. I will have to attack to kill, not hurt.'

Miroku frowns. 'My mystic senses? I felt something?' he spins around and looks at where the mystic scrolls were at.

His eyes open. 'Concealed spell!' A symbol glows in the wood of the gate.

A symbol of bad luck.

Miroku screams!

He looks at his cursed hand. He looks at the top of the wall. An archer just fried an arrow into his cursed hand.

He cannot use it . . .

Sango's head whips around to Miroku. The blood dripping from his hand, causes her to grimace. She glances around, spots the archer, pulls a throwing spike from her clothes, and throws. The spike kills the archer, who's dead body falls off the wall.

"Miroku!" She calls.

Miroku picks up a nearby spear and using the blunt end knocks a charging guard unconscious. "I'll be fine! But, your going to have to keep the guards away from Inu-yasha and Kagura!"

Sango's head swings around, looking at Inu-yasha and Kagura, as they begin to square off against the two huge bronze lion-dogs.

She looks at the guards, and thinks, 'He's wrong. They are not going to come near that fight. This is going to be me vs. the guards.'

The guards, in various states of dress, armor and weapons, are ignoring the building fight between the demons and the demon killing bronze statues. They know that getting involved with that, means their death.

So.

They begin to charge Sango and Miroku.

Miroku thinks, 'they weren't fully prepared, that is good. And some of the officers aren't here, they are in the house, so, the guards aren't as well organized. That will help. But, still. This will not be an easy fight.'

Sango yells at Miroku, "Stand with your back to a wall! I'll take care of them!"

Miroku nods and places his back to a nearby wall. He scans the top of the wall. 'I've dodged arrows during training. I must do it again.'

The guards begin to pour from some of the secondary entrances of the main house. (The main entrances are where the lion-dog's are at, so no one is using them.) Some also come from the building along the inside of the outer wall.

'I can't kill them one by one. So, I've got to destroy their morale. I've got to make them fear me.' Sango thinks, as she grips her sword. 'My boomerang would have done that, but, I didn't bring it, since I was supposed to pretend to be a normal samurai.'

Sango chooses the closest group of guards and charges them.

Her sword flashes silver in the early morning sun, as she swings it.

Her opening swing, designed to frighten them, splits one guard's head into two pieces, as she cuts through the skull and face of the guard.

The second swing, as she runs past them, slices another guard in half, as she cuts his backbone in half.

The third swing beheads another guard.

All of those swings take place in a couple eye blinks.

Sango, her face blood splattered now, smiles, not saying a thing . . .

She pauses, for a heartbeat, then begins to swing again.

The guards break and run away from her.

They were not prepared for this type of silent berserker-like attack.

Sango bends down, picks up the head that she cut off and throws it at another group of charging guards.

They also stop and begin to yell among themselves.

Sango charges them.

They run away, screaming.

Rallying yells from one wing of the main house begins to ring out. The officers, caught by surprise, are beginning to organize the men.

It will take a couple of minutes for the guards to reorganize, time that Sango can use . . .

'They'll regroup. I've just frightened and confused them. They weren't ready for this. Next time, it will be a harder fight.' Sango thinks.

Miroku grunts as he pulls the arrow from his hand, and covers the hand with his leather gauntlet. 'Finally, this thing is coming in handy.' He thinks.

He looks around, grimacing at Sango's tactics. 'She's got to attack. There are too many to defend.'

A glint catches the sun.

Miroku dodges the arrow from the archer on the wall.

'I'm just a target. I've got to move.' Miroku thinks. He runs to Sango, pointing to Inu-yasha and Kagura.

"We've got to help them!" he yells!

Kagura is flying above the Lion-dog. The Jishi, the pony-sized bronze lion-dog, fighting her is spitting fire at her, which her wind powers are deflecting. 'Damn.' She thinks, 'I'm spending too much time and effort deflecting his fiery breath, and I can't attack.'

Inu-yasha, though, is having problems.

Inu-yasha jumps over the Jishi, slashing at the lion-dog with his sword. His jump, though, is slow enough and low enough that the fiery breath of the Jishi catches his legs.

'That fucking hurt!' he thinks. He gasps as he lands. 'Not the fire, just the effort. He hasn't hurt me, but, I can't keep this up much longer. Luckily my fire-rat clothes are fireproof.'

Sango and Miroku look at each other.

"I'll help Kagura, see if I can distract the Jishi, so she can hurt it." Miroku says.

At the time that Sango say, "I'll help Inu-yasha. He can't keep that up for long."

Sango starts to run to Inu-yasha, but, Miroku's hand on her arm stops her. He whispers, as they look into each other's eyes, "be careful."

Sango's mouth twitches into a smile. "You be careful, monk."

He nods, lets go of her arm, and runs toward Kagura.

'With my hand hurt, I am limited.' He thinks. 'But that is a magical creature, and I do have magical skills.'

"I don't need no help!" Inu-yasha yells as he sees Sango charging toward him. He, instantly and instinctively, dodges as the Jishi swipes at him, then groans in pain as he rolls away from the creature.

"You do!" Sango yells. 'Although, what can I do?' she thinks. 'This is just a normal sword, nothing special like his.'

Sango runs up to the right side of the lion-dog and strikes it with her sword. Her high quality steel sword leaves a bright mark in the softer bronze, but no real damage.

"Great." She hisses.

"What are you doing?!" Kagura yells at Miroku.

He is standing, still, off to one side of the lion-dog, his hands clasped together in prayer, whispering something.

The Jishi stops blowing fire at Kagura and turns to look at Miroku.

'Once I finish this spell, he'll be under my control.' Miroku thinks, as he pauses to catch a breath.

A glint in the sky, causes Miroku to dodge the arrow. That does, though, break his spell, and the Jishi spits another fireball at Kagura.

"Stop them from shooting at me!" Miroku yells at Kagura. "I can stop it, but I need time!"

Kagura waves her fan, deflecting the fiery breath of the Jishi at a group of guards that was getting close.

A couple of them scream in agony as they are engulfed in flames. They die screaming in pain. The remaining men quickly retreat from the burning men.

From off in the distance, Kagura and Miroku can hear. "That Monk! Fire arrows at him! Make sure that he can't cast any spells!"

'They must have heard my yell to Kagura!' Miroku thinks. 'And they've got an officer that is thinking on his feet.'

"I can't deflect the arrows and the fire breath at the same time!" Kagura yells down to Miroku.

"Great." He hisses.

Sango's eyes flick to Miroku, as she thinks about the yells that she's heard. "Inu-yasha." She hisses as her sword rings off the bronze of the lion-dog, again.

"What, bitch!" he hisses in pain, as he dodges a swipe from the long sharp bronze claws of the Jishi.

"Help Miroku." Sango continues. "If he can cast his spell, we can win. I can occupy this thing."

"You help him. You love him!" Inu-yasha replies.

"Inu-yasha! You're about to drop from pain! Fight the guards, beat them, then come back and help me!" Sango yells back.

Inu-yasha pauses, then ducks under another claw attack that almost takes his head off.

"And, sooner or later Kagome will show up!" Sango cries. "IF you're not fighting this thing, you can help her!"

Inu-yasha starts, and, then, jumps away from the Jishi and toward the human soldiers.

Sango jumps onto the back of the Jishi, striking its head with her sword. 'Now, how do I kill this thing?!' she thinks.

Inu-yasha, his teeth bared from pain, charges some of the human soldiers.

These men have had time to organize, so they don't break from fear as he charges. They lower their bows and fire arrows at Inu-yasha, which are deflected by his huge sword, or bounce off his clothes.

But, once Inu-yasha gets among them, he is still stronger and faster than any human. He howls in agony, but, his attacks are killing or injuring the soldiers.

A couple of officers begin to yell instructions, organizing their men. The shock of the sudden attack is wearing off.

A couple of men come running into the compound shouting about "Soldiers coming!"

Kagura rises higher and looks over the city. 'We're in trouble. Kagome had better get that shard and fast.' She thinks.

The soldiers from the other houses in the city are approaching the Yuki family compound.

"We're in the middle of a goddamned cluster fuck!" Inu-yasha yells.

Miroku, his hands clapped together, begins to chant again.

'Let's see if this works!' Sango thinks as she jams her sword into the eye socket of the Jishi.

The heavy bronze lion-dog rolls over, forcing Sango to jump off, yanking her sword out of it.

'Well, it's at least not going after inu-yasha.' Sango thinks. 'It is bronze, though, I wonder. That is softer than steel.' She jumps on the Jishi and with her free hand punches it in the shoulder. The bronze screams as it scrapes against itself, bending and twisting.

'The joints!' Sango thinks. Her sword blurs as she begins to attack the joints of the bronze statue. Her sword starts to dull, but, the joints of the Jishi are weakening and the movement of the Jishi is slowing.

The Jishi twists and breathes fire at Sango.

"NO!" a titanically loud scream is heard.

It stops everything . . .

Kagome appears at the main entrance. She points to Sango and the fiery breath of Jishi vanishes.

Sango, Inu-yasha, Kagura and Miroku all look at Kagome, their mouths open. That is not something that they've seen her do before.

In that instant that their concentration breaks:

Miroku's spell fades and he is hit in the shoulder with an arrow.

Kagura only partially deflects the fire breath of the Jishi below her. Her fan is heavily damaged. She has to land, hard.

Inu-yasha is struck by a couple of spears, causing him to bleed and howl in pain.

Sango's sword breaks as it gets caught between the leg joint of the Jishi.

"Kill her!" at least a couple of the officers yell, pointing at Kagome.

'No time. Figure it later.' Sango thinks as she ducks under the jaws of the Jishi, stabbing her broken sword into the joint of its jawbone. She twists popping the jaw of the Jishi out of place.

Sango screams "AGGGHHH!!" in pain as fire drips from the broken jaw and onto her legs. She just barely avoids being crushed by the Jishi.

The dripping fire from the open jaw of the Jishi begins to melt the bronze of its front legs, causing it to collapse.

"No! Begone!" Kagome yells, pointing something at the Jishi fighting Sango.

A Whirlpool of stars appears above the Jishi, and sucks it into them. The huge lion-dog vanishes.

"NO!" Miroku yells! He runs to Sango, ignoring the arrow in his shoulder.

Kagura rolls as she lands, hard, on the ground. The Jishi is coming toward her.

Inu-yasha suddenly yells in pain, as he jumps toward to Kagome.

As he jumps, arrows hit him in the back, penetrating his red fire rat shirt.

More arrows hit Kagome. Something, large, falls from her hand.

Inu-yasha, totally ignoring his pain and wounds, lands next to her and scoops her up.

"Kagome!" he cries, tears falling from his checks.

She looks up at Inu-yasha, "All I wanted to do was help my friend." She says.

She closes her eyes and fades away, leaving a slightly burnt doll in Inu-yasha's hands.

Inu-yasha's expression is full of shock and pain. "What!?" He cries!

"No!" Kagome screams as she walks out of the main entrance.

She can see Miroku holding Sango's partially burnt body. Soldiers at running toward them, waving swords and spears.

Kagura is trying and failing, as she uses her broken fan to hold off the Jishi. It will either burn her or crush her, quickly.

Inu-yasha lifts his face to look at Kagome, as more arrows fall around him. Some hit the ground, and some hit him.

"How?" He howls as he jumps up and engulfs Kagome in a bear, ignoring his wounds.

"She was a ghost of a little girl. I helped her earlier." Kagome whispers. "She tried to repay me for my help."

Kagome can see the archers pulling back, aiming at her and Inu-yasha.

'We're dead.' She thinks.

The end chapter 16.

Sometimes, in combat, things go bad . . .

Also, in a totally different context, I have written another, totally separate story on Remove the spaces for the link.

http:www. fictionpress. com/ read. php?storyid1733674

I will begin to work on Kagome: goddess of japan next. I should have the next chapter of it out Sunday. Working on it will be my primary goal for the rest of the month.

Thank you for reading

jeff shelton


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